Implementation in Other Schools

Since the original 1999 allocation, the MLRC has continued to work with Minnesota schools through reauthorized funding each succeeding biennium from the state legislature.  When seeking continued funding, the MLRC proposed to provide S.M.A.R.T., AVE and HSAS training and follow-up monthly mentoring to pre-kindergarten through third grade classroom, Special Education, Title I and Physical Education teachers who in turn would implement the program.

Over the years, program implementation has proven to be one that is easy to implement as a supplement to any existing curriculum and cost-effective within the public school setting. Based on the total number of S.M.A.R.T. students served around the country during school years from 2002 -2004, the cost of program implementation is approximately  $116 per student, a fraction of the cost typically involved for those students requiring Special Education or Title I services.

During the first months that the MLRC received funding from the U.S. Department of Education, schools in South Dakota, Tennessee and Wisconsin were selected to receive training and follow-up mentoring by MLRC trained professionals. Through the grant, a total of 75 schools implemented the S.M.A.R.T. program over the two-year period, serving some 5300 students in each of the two years.This included eight schools in Huron, SD, thirteen in northwestern Wisconsin and, in Knox County Tennessee, all Kindergarten classes of the districts 51 elementary schools were involved in the replication project. In addition, four schools in two other Tennessee counties integrated S.M.A.R.T. during that time.

The MLRC was notified in the fall of 2003 of a second two year federal grant, totaling nearly $950,000, to replicate the program in additional schools across the country and to include a rigorous scientific research component. Besides Tennessee, Wisconsin and South Dakota, new states involved in replication during school year 2004-05 included North Dakota, Iowa, and Delaware, bringing the number of schools outside of Minnesota to 94.

In addition to those sites listed above, Kindergarten classes of the 12 Title I schools in Tallahassee, (Leon County) Florida, are the focus of a major evaluation of the S.M.A.R.T. program. Kindergarten classes in six of the county’s Title 1 schools have had their teachers trained and are being mentored in the S.M.A.R.T. program. Six other Title 1 buildings are serving as the control group. A team of experienced researchers associated with Florida State University is directing the evaluation and will issue a full report at the conclusion of school year 2004 - 05.