Navajo School

Lands of the Navajo Nation stretch across vast swaths of desert in northern Arizona and New Mexico and are home to 66 schools run by the Bureau of Indian Education. The landscape might be breathtaking, but the dilapidated condition of the schools is eye-popping for another reason. Despite well-documented needs for renovations, the schools linger unattended for years. The buildings that often need the most attention is housing for teachers, who sometimes must commute hours to reach the remote campuses. This makes hiring qualified instructors more difficult and hinders efforts to improve abysmally low scores on reading and math tests.

School bus driver delayed by a cattle drive on way to school.
School bus driver delayed by a cattle drive on way to school.
Sign to Cove Day School.
Sign to Cove Day School.
Child on school bus.
Child on school bus.
Children line up.
Children line up.
Asbestos warning sign in basement storage.
Asbestos warning sign in basement storage.
Inside a classroom where lights are off.
Inside a classroom where lights are off.
Children respond to a teacher while boarding a bus.
Children respond to a teacher while boarding a bus.
Cracked walls inside a school.
Cracked walls inside a school.
Housing for teachers in need of repair.
Housing for teachers in need of repair.
Broken bathroom being used for closet storage.
Broken bathroom being used for closet storage.
School on reservation.
School on reservation.
Students wait for dismissal.
Students wait for dismissal.
Child exits bus and walks up driveway to home.
Child exits bus and walks up driveway to home.
Shiprock on the Najavo Nation.
Shiprock on the Najavo Nation.
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