DWS' ASSIST Model recognized by Thailand's Ministry of Education
More than 5,700 girls have come through the gates of Dhammajarinee Witthaya School.
They have come from 68 of Thailand's 76 provinces, one at a time, each arriving with her own story, her own difficulties, her own strengths, and her own idea of what her life might become.
How do you care for that many girls and still see each one?
Dhammajarinee's answer is the ASSIST Model — a school-wide way of understanding each girl, responding to what she needs, following her as she grows, and helping her become who she is capable of being.
On August 31st, that work was formally recognized. After the school presented ASSIST at EduNEXT 2026, part of the Innovation for Thai Education (IFTE) initiative, Dhammajarinee received a certificate of recognition from the Office of the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education.
The school presented it with a phrase that summarized its goal and purpose:
"Care with heart. Understand through a system."
Here is what that looks like day to day.
A — Assessment: Know her
Before anything else, someone listens. Teachers and staff sit with each new girl to learn where she comes from — her family, what she has lived through, how she is doing, what she needs, and, just as importantly, what she is already good at. Everything that follows is built on who she actually is.
S — Screening: Notice early
Screening tools help staff understand the things a girl may not say out loud: a gap in her reading, a health concern, a challenge from her past. Noticing early means no one has to wait until a problem becomes impossible to miss.
S — Support: Meet her where she is
For one girl, that means a teacher staying after class until the lesson finally clicks. For another, it means additional medical care or emotional support.
I — Integration: Surround her with people who care
No one cares for a girl alone. Teachers, dormitory staff, school leaders, parents, student leaders, community members, and partner organizations stay in conversation about her, so that her math teacher knows what the dormitory staff noticed the night before.
S — Supervision: Stay with her
Girls change. What she needed in her first term is rarely what she needs in her third year. Staff keep evaluating her progress and keep adjusting as her circumstances and needs shift.
T — Total Development: Help her flourish
The goal is the development of a whole person — academically, emotionally, physically, and spiritually — so that a girl leaves DWS ready to continue on to higher education, to build healthy relationships, to make her way in the world as an empowered, self-sufficient individual, and to give back to others.
From daily practice to recognized innovation
ASSIST grew out of years of caring for girls in difficult circumstances, one girl at a time, until the patterns became something the school could name, refine, and now share with the wider education community.
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