Original Research by School Decision on Painted Desert Demonstration Projects Inc. (79086)
Painted Desert Demonstration Projects Inc. is a small district serving kindergarten through eighth grade in Coconino County, Arizona. The district is a single-school system, with its only campus being STAR Charter School. Because it serves only elementary and middle grades, the district does not have a high school graduation rate. A parent looking at this district will find a very small educational environment, shaped by its rural setting and the specific community it serves.
The student body is overwhelmingly Native American, reflecting the population of the area it serves. The district is small, with an enrollment that is tiny compared to most public school districts. Each grade level has a small number of students, which can mean more individualized attention but also fewer opportunities for the breadth of course offerings found in larger districts. Information on the share of students who qualify for free or reduced-price meals, as well as those receiving special education services or English learner support, was not available. A parent would want to ask the school directly about these support structures.
The district’s state assessment results are mostly suppressed for privacy reasons, a standard practice when the number of students tested is very small. A usable proficiency rate was available only for English language arts across all grades combined in one recent school year, and that rate was well below the midpoint among the state’s districts. No usable math or science proficiency figures are available to the public. Because the student counts in each grade are so low, these results may not be a reliable measure of the school's quality, but a family should discuss academic progress directly with the school.
On a more positive note, chronic absenteeism is low. The district’s rate places it in the top quartile for low absenteeism among Coconino County’s districts, suggesting that most students are attending school regularly. This is a strength worth noting.
The district spends well above the typical district in the county on a per-pupil basis, with current expenditures in the upper range when compared to its Coconino County peers. This elevated spending likely reflects the challenges of operating a small, remote school with fixed costs spread across few students.
A search for recent district-level changes or initiatives turned up little information of lasting impact for parents. The district itself appears to operate without much public reporting on its priorities or plans, so a family would need to rely on direct communication with the school to understand its direction.
In profile, Painted Desert Demonstration Projects Inc. is a very small, K-8 charter district anchored by STAR Charter School. The district primarily serves Native American students in a setting where class sizes are small and spending per student is high. Chronic absenteeism is low, which points to a school where students generally show up. Academic proficiency data is mostly unavailable due to small numbers, and the one reported ELA figure is low. A family considering this district will want to visit the school, talk to the principal and teachers, and ask directly about how academic progress is measured and supported given the small scale of the operation.
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