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Tuesday, December 08, 2009

Plummeting Scores at Santo Domingo School 'Concerning'

By Elaine D. BriseñO
Journal Staff Writer
       The Santo Domingo school widely applauded three years ago as a "School on the Rise" has seen its elementary math scores plummet so much that last year only 19 percent of students were proficient in math.
    In reading, 28 percent of elementary kids were proficient.
    "I think Santo Domingo is a perfect example of how the system is failing," Rep. Rhonda S. King, a Stanley Democrat who is on the Legislative Finance Committee, said during a recent hearing. "We really need to look at the entire system from the top to the bottom and from the bottom to the top because what happened in that situation is very, very concerning."
    The sharp decline at Santo Domingo Elementary and Middle School, on Santo Domingo Pueblo, was referenced in a recent LFC report. The school's population is 100 percent American Indian.
    The state recognized Santo Domingo in January 2006 as a School on the Rise. Students and faculty celebrated by holding a big assembly attended by parents, the public and state Public Education Secretary Veronica Garcia.
    The school was able to meet Adequate Yearly Progress for the first time by increasing the number of students proficient in math and reading. It was working toward closing a stubborn achievement gap between Indian and Anglo students.
    Statewide, American Indian students account for 11 percent of school enrollment, and their scores in math and reading lag behind their Anglo counterparts by about 30 percent, depending on the grade.
    Santo Domingo's leadership brought about the gains by giving teachers more training, using data to drive decisions and providing intervention for individual students. The school also recognized the importance of parent and community involvement, inviting people to the school and holding public meetings to talk about poor grades and how to raise them.
    The following year, principal Bryan Garcia left to take a job with Rio Rancho Public Schools. The school has gone through two principals since then.
    Those changes in leadership contributed to the reversal in progress, said John Ryan, Bernalillo Public Schools' executive director of human resources and accountability. The Bernalillo district oversees the Santo Domingo school.
    "What we have is a transition in leadership," he said. "Through this transition, the progress did not continue. The process became diluted and lost its intensity. It takes extreme focus."
    Journal staff writer Martin Salazar contributed to this report.

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