Santo Domingo School: A Rural Schoolwide Project Success

A rural school serving a disadvantaged Native American population had a long history of high student absenteeism, low achievement, fragmented services, limited staff development, and a lack of strong ties among the school, parents, and community. Using the schoolwide-project option allowed in the 1988 Hawkins-Stafford Amendments to Chapter 1, the school restructured its compensatory and regular education services. After two years, the school experienced lower student absenteeism, higher achievement, increased student self-esteem, reduced numbers of referrals to special education, and increased parent and community involvement. The authors of this case study conclude that the schoolwide-project option was central to the school’s improvement efforts.