The reported proficiency rate for English language arts is 24%.
Original Research by School Decision on Dzit Dit Lool School of Empowerment Action and Perseverance
DZIT DIT LOOL SCHOOL OF EMPOWERMENT ACTION AND PERSEVERANCE, often referred to as DEAP, is a single-school charter district in New Mexico serving grades six through twelve. It is a very small school, with enrollment concentrated across its middle and high school grades. The student body is almost entirely American Indian or Alaska Native, specifically Diné, which aligns with the school's explicitly cultural mission. A handful of students come from other racial or ethnic backgrounds.
The school's educational program is built around a Land Based Learning Curriculum. According to publicly reported information from the New Mexico Public Education Department and the school's own framework documents, this approach integrates hands-on learning through partnerships with local farms and land-based education programs. The curriculum rests on four pillars: Land Based Learning, Diné Empowerment Through Cultural Revitalization and Relevancy, Wellness and Perseverance, and Service Learning for Community Action and Leadership. The program ties academic work to STEAM career pathways, food security, agriculture, ecology, and community wellness, with the stated goal of preparing students for college while grounding them in Diné culture and community leadership. For families seeking an education rooted in Indigenous cultural revitalization and practical, land-connected learning, this framework is distinctive and central to what DEAP offers.
State assessment data is limited. In English language arts, a modest share of tested middle-grade students reached proficiency. Math proficiency results were suppressed by the state, likely owing to the very small number of students tested, and science proficiency was also suppressed. No average scale scores or participation rates were available for any subject. Because the school serves grades six through twelve, only the middle-grade portion participates in the state's grades-three-through-eight assessment system, and the small tested cohort makes year-to-year results volatile. High school assessments and graduation rate data were not available in the provided data. Parents looking for a fuller academic picture may want to ask the school directly about assessment trends and graduation outcomes.
Information on free or reduced-price lunch eligibility, special education enrollment, and English learner status was not available. The school's Title I status, charter or magnet designation, locale classification, staffing details, discipline data, and course access data were all absent from the provided information. No community or economic context brief was available for the school's location, and no housing or rental data was provided. We looked for a neighboring-district comparison set but found none, so the school could not be positioned against its county peers.
On the governance side, publicly reported documents indicate that DEAP's charter contract runs through a term ending in the mid-2020s, and a renewal packet has been submitted to the New Mexico Public Education Commission. For a single-school charter district, charter renewal functions much like a district referendum: it determines whether the school continues to operate and under what conditions. Families considering DEAP should be aware that the school is in or approaching a renewal cycle, which is a normal part of charter school operations but worth following.
What DEAP offers is a tightly focused, culturally grounded educational pathway for a small Diné student population. Its land-based curriculum and community wellness orientation set it apart from conventional schools. The trade-off is that available academic data is sparse, partly because the school is small enough that state testing results are suppressed in two of three subjects. A parent drawn to the school's mission would do well to visit, ask about academic outcomes directly, and understand where the school stands in its charter renewal process.
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