Keeping Urban Schools Safe

It is no secret that urban schools serve many needs of students beyond education. Schools provide sports, clubs, counseling, therapy, and two meals a day to students. It is also our charge to keep students safe. Inner city schools themselves are not inherently unsafe places, however the violence of the city can infiltrate the school walls and metal detectors.

For the past two weeks, This American Life on NPR produced a two-part episode on this exact topic. The program spent a few months in an inner city high school in a rough neighborhood in Chicago, Harper High School, in which there had been 27 students shot in the previous year, six of whom died. Harper, facing significant issues, was deemed a turn-around school, and given additional millions of dollars over five years to try and enact real change with this additional support. To help the student body in this tragically violent setting, the school added support staff of social workers, counselors, and enrichment/mentoring programs, including teams of people who speak with students and community members to stay informed of happenings in and around school to take preventative measures against violence. However, as the school is in its fifth year of turn around status, the money goes away next year, and with it the staff, programming, and sense of community it took so long to build. Two security guards who worked at the school for a long time commented, “It always changes when the money is added. Then everything goes backward when it’s lost. There’s more fights. The violence gets worse.”

I am not a proponent of the argument that increased funding will save urban schools in America. That is far too simple. However, I do believe that kids must feel safe in order to learn. They must feel like they have a shot at life in order to be invested in an education to make their lives better. To create this environment, it does take more staff and programming, which in turn does require more funding. Students must take care of their most pressing needs of physical and emotional safety before opening their minds for learning.

The final act of the program addressed a tweet at This American Life that stated the program “found the most violent high school in the country.” They addressed the point that this is statistically impossible to tell, and, more importantly, Harper High School is not an isolated case. Poignantly, principals and teachers in cities all over the country state the number students who have been lost to violence at their schools. I will add my statement to theirs:

My name is Sara John. I am a teacher at Patterson High School in Baltimore. I have lost one student this year to violence.

http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/487/harper-high-school-part-one

The Plight of Principals

EdWeek has an article out this week on principals' increasing frustration with their jobs. The national survey they conducted found that "three out of four K-12 public school principals, regardless of the types of schools they work in, believe the job has become 'too complex,' and about a third say they are likely to go into a different occupation within next five years." The article goes on to talk about some of the principals' complaints of how their jobs have become increasingly more difficult over the last five years because of the mounting responsibilities that they are given. A couple of the more recent tasks added onto this list include implementing Common Core Standards and handling tight budgets.

 

It does not surprise me that principals are dissatisfied with their jobs. Being a teacher, I see the stress that my own principal experiences on a daily basis trying to juggle all of her responsibilities in an effort to keep our school afloat. The duty of rolling out Common Core Standards in our school is one endeavor in particular that has resulted in added pressure to our administration and staff. While I am not surprised at the high level of dissatisfaction among principals, I am worried about what these statistics mean for the future of Baltimore City Schools in particular. There are already enough ever changing factors within our schools; the last thing we want is to see lower retention among our school leaders.

 

One question to ask is whether it is fair for principals to be given the amount of responsibility that has been piled onto their plates. Are there other routes or stakeholders that could help to balance out the workload? Another question to ask--and this is the one that concerns me more--is whether principals are even prepared to take on the workload that has been handed over to them. I realize that there is much work to be done in our schools, and someone certainly has to be the one to step up and take on the responsibility. I also do not doubt that our principals are willing to take on the heavy load that is necessary for their schools to achieve. The problem that I see is that principals are being asked to do more, but they are not being given the support, training, and professional development needed to effectively manage the heavier load and meet the demands of new expectations. I believe that there are some great leaders within our schools in Baltimore, but I think that our schools are unfortunately missing out on the great potential that our leaders bring to the table because the proper mechanisms of training and support are not in place to see the potential of our leaders actualized. Baltimore City has been cracking down on principals, emphasizing new expectations of increased accountability. While I agree that there needs to be a great push for competent school leaders, I also see a need for our district leaders to own up to a commitment to our principals--one in which they don't see demotions as the solution to fixing issues of school leadership, but instead they invest in developing those leaders to be able to meet higher expectations.

To view article: http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2013/02/21/22leaders.h32.html?tkn=RUWFk5wLOIjnL%2BWf9udaOFtcL79VZ9aVGnSb&cmp=clp-edweek

Measuring teachers effectives: Teacher actions that cannot be measured

Bullying has been a topic of conversation not just in Baltimore City Public Schools, but also across the nation. This upcoming Wednesday, February 28^th CNN will release a powerful documentary called, “The Bully Effect.” This documentary captures the story of three families who were callously effected by their son or daughter being bullied. “The Bully Effect” aims to expose the tremendously hurtful and sometimes deadly actions some students inflict on other students on their way to and from school. Additionally, the documentary aims to reveal how individuals are making difference in their communities and all throughout the country are standing up against bullying.

The conversation of bullying is relevant to our upcoming classroom discussion on value-added (VA) scores which are used to only measure academic teacher effectiveness in some states. These scores are based on the end-of-year test scores of a teacher’s students. A teacher whose students’ scores exceed expectation, get a high VA score. A teacher whose students achieve below expectations receive allow score. In opposition, some educators argue that the VA-based evaluations unfairly reward or penalize teachers based on the students they teach rather than on their true impact which at times cannot be measured-student change in mindset, student development of confidence, and in this example helping a student through a mental and physical challenge (bullying).

Placing this type of stress or emphasis on teachers, limits and discourages a teacher to be actively involved with all the other components that develop a whole child – sports, character building, and in class and after school safety. Teachers are being placed under strict scrutiny; we are pressured day in and out to deal with the multiple expectations placed upon us by the district. These expectations include both high test scores outcomes and certification requirements. Both of which research has shown to have very little impact on a student’s development. If we are expected to produce great citizens for our society, teachers cannot be suffocated with the pressures of producing a specific test score. We must be provided with the time and resources to address the development of the whole child, which includes the rising issue of bullying.

I agree that schools should be held accountable to student achievement, but how can a school focus solely on achievement, when their students are combating violence in and outside of schools in multiple ways? How can a teacher direct all of his or her attention to only producing academic gains, if there are so many complexities with in an urban school? The question at hand, what's at stake when you have teacher striving to be effective in only one area in order to earn that high VA score? Is it not significant for a teacher to help students cope or escape bullying or other incidents of malice and violence? Should these teacher actions not be factored in when evaluating their effectiveness to be a teacher in an urban setting?

http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/2013/02/12/ac360-special-documentary-the-bully-effect/

Teacher Preparation and Certification

After our class discussion this week about teacher preparation and certification, I started to wonder where Maryland ranked in the country for our teacher preparation programs.  A recent Baltimore Sun article showed me that Maryland’s teacher preparation programs recently scored a D+ on the National Council on Teacher Quality’s annual report card. 

The report said that Maryland should raise requirements for applicants wanting to enter teacher prep programs in schools of education and hold them accountable for how effective the teachers they produce are.  In the same report, the NCTQ gave Maryland high marks for its accessibility to alternative certification programs.  I thought this was an interesting point considering that myself and many of my co-workers come from alternative certification programs such as Teach for America or Baltimore City Teaching Residency.  I thought about our different routes into teaching and if one prepared us better than the other.  I know this is a highly debated topic and that there hasn't been much concrete evidence showing whether teachers from alternative programs perform better or worse than those that were traditionally certified.  

From my experiences, I have seen myself and other teachers from these alternative programs perform better then traditionally certified teachers in my school.  One of the traditionally certified teachers in my school said she felt completely unprepared to teach in an urban school.  She said her program taught her a great deal about how to teach in a rural or suburban district, but not how to teach in an urban district.  She ultimately felt overwhelmed and quit her second month into teaching at my school.  Whereas, my co-workers and I felt more prepared for the urban setting because we had been more informed of the challenges.  Not only that, but we all possessed the same traits of being resourceful and relentless.  She received four years of teacher training, and us a few months to a year, and yet we have excelled and lasted at our school.  I agree with the study in that Maryland and other states should raise the requirements, but not based on say things like SAT scores or grades.  I think applicants to a teacher preparation program should have an interview or a “sample lesson” before being accepted.  Strong teachers need to possess a certain set of character traits and beliefs that standardized tests don’t necessarily capture.  I believe a strong teacher possesses the skills to think on his/her feet, is resourceful, takes criticism, is able to multi-task, has a strong presence, and is someone that’s not willing to give up.  I think the last trait is extremely important because teachers have to be willing to never give up on their students.  It is a challenge for schools and students when a teacher quits during the school year.  The school has to scramble to find a replacement and the students have their stability and learning interrupted.

 I think Teach for America does a great job with their screening process for the fact it is heavily interview based.  I’ll never forget the question I received when I was interviewed for Teach of America – “What would make you quit before the end of your commitment?” My answer-“Nothing.” 

            I think teacher preparation programs in Maryland and across the country need to take a hard look at their admission requirements and consider adding an interview component so they can get a better look at the character traits of the people entering their programs.  With the right classes and training, anyone can learn a content, but not everyone can learn the traits it takes to be a strong teacher such as being relentless and resourceful.  I think once programs start screening for those traits, schools will be turning out stronger teachers and ones that will be in the profession for the long haul. 

Admin Financially Incentivized to not Suspend

It seemed like a normal day after school. I cleaned up my classroom, stowed my projector, double-checked that I completed my attendance, and walked to my car hoping we’d get some snow. I shook off all the cursing, fighting, shouting, and students running around the hallways craving a more peaceful tomorrow.

I turned on NPR. The reporter said that Baltimore City Public Schools had introduced a new program that financially incentivizes administrators to not suspend students. How much? $9,500. My blood began boiling. The CEO of City Schools, Andres Alonso, said that students should be in school. I couldn’t agree more. Students should be in school, but not at the expense of the safety of the students and staff.

I work at a school where the students vary in age from 11 to 20-years-old. When gang violence enters the building, when drugs enter the building, when sexual harassment enters the building, when weapons enter the building, it makes other people unsafe and it limits their rights to be educated in a safe environment. Additionally, what kind of message does it send to our students to say, “you fought but now you have to go to class” or “you shouldn’t sell pot to a 7th grader, but I want my $9,500 so go back to class.”

What is a teacher to do when their students won’t be suspended for fighting in their classroom? Give them a consequence? That is where administration is supposed to step-in and show that student and other students that certain behaviors are intolerable. What happens in the real world if you break the rules? Fines, jail, decay of society. I do not believe in punishing students, but I do believe in having consequences for actions and, more importantly, keeping other students safe and giving them the education they deserve.

Read more from the Baltimore Sun: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/education/bs-md-ci-suspension-bonus-program-20130114,0,6389037.story

Fighting to Keep Failure Factories Open

An issue that Baltimore City Public School System (BCPSS) recently dealt with that I find very interesting (and equally infuriating) is that when the failing charter school, Bluford Drew Jemison STEM Academy, was being threatened with non-renewal, there were multiple stakeholders (and not just the Executive Director who makes over $100,000 for doing virtually nothing) fighting to keep it open. 

I am specifically in support of the district’s decision to non-renew the BDJ charter based on my experiences as teacher at their West location last year. However, as detailed in a recent Baltimore Sun article, there are many who were trying to keep the charter in operation.  

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/education/blog/bs-md-charter-school-debate-20130209,0,6017624.story?track=rs

Ms. Emory who made many of the comments in the article is a retired principal who ran the BDJ West building back when it was Walbrook High School. She still hangs around the school, now that it is BDJ, yet has no positive impact on the school culture. Last year, the middle school was essentially a fight club for students; in fact, multiple teachers (including myself) were assaulted and sexually harassed on more than one occasion. I am baffled that she continues to make such positive remarks about the school, considering she has actually seen it in action. 

Additionally, multiple BDJ students from both locations also protested the closing by attending BCPSS Board Meetings with in their uniforms and with signs. I even ran into one of my former students there. He was one of the few great students I taught, but I was shocked to see him standing up for a charter organization that, if anything, threatened his ability to excel academically (given that it was a generally chaotic and often dangerous place to go to school). 

I can’t help but question: are the people who were fighting (for reasons other than financial incentive) to keep the BDJ charter (and other schools like it) around just delusional or is this really their idea of a good school because they just haven’t experienced any better themselves (as students or as educators)?

Being Finland.

According to Pearson's "The Learning Curve" report, released in September 2012, Finland is THE place to be a teacher.

Finland.  Finland, Finland, Finland.

We get it - you're the best - "number one." Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I have heard so much praise and excitement over the great things happening in Finland's education system to give it that number-one-with-a-bullet rank.  The United States, however, barely squeaks by into the top 20 list, settling in at an unimpressive 17.  What's the disparity here?

Finland's model openly challenges the effectiveness of our nation's teacher preparation and evaluation programs.  As a Teach for America alum, I grapple with the idea of teacher training:  Finland would never allow a teacher with five weeks of crash-course summer training to teach.  In Finland, the pathway to become an educator is challenging and competitive, with a low acceptance rate into masters programs (which is absolutely required to become a teacher).  Interestingly enough, as opposed to the estimated 50% turnover rate for the first five years of teaching in the United States, education appears to be a lifelong profession in Finland.  "Teach for Finland" is not an option.

Additionally, unlike some of its competitors, Finland does not track its students; all students learn in the same classroom.  Standardized testing does not exist, except the exit exam at the end of secondary school.  Class sizes are smaller, but not significantly so (an average of about 21 students per class).   Time in the classroom is less than in the United States. Even still, the differences in the lowest-performing students and highest-performing students is minimal.

They continue to outshine us in so many regards.  So, how can we learn from them?

It's hard to say for sure if we could mirror a system like this in our own country because our populations are so diverse, and our history and culture are so different. I'm not sure we could just take their system and implement it flawlessly.  However,  I believe that we can learn, reflect, and adjust if we analyze how Finland is able to consistently keep good teachers in the classroom and students performing at their best.

It seems that the baseline here is choosing the right people to teach children.  In this respect, I feel that programs like TFA or The New Teacher Project (TNTP) are on the right track as Finland - focusing on the "best and brightest" - but the program itself falls short.  Instead of this temporary quick-fix, maybe we should start making the teacher preparation process more selective.

Finland does evaluate teachers, but does not use it for reprimanding or micromanaging.  Rather, it is used for development. Teachers in Finland also can decide on their own teaching methods and materials.  Because all teachers are so well-prepared and impeccably trained, there is an implicit trust in their abilities.  Therefore, they are given complete autonomy over their work and they test their own students.  Teaching is a well-respected and highly-regarded profession, peppered with a lot of freedom and trust.

Some places, like Baltimore City, feel the need to use salary-based incentives to keep teachers motivated to perform well.  While I believe that this is certainly on the right track, I think that teacher training, evaluation, and satisfaction are really the key for a more effective educational system.  Of course salary must be considered, but this is not the main reason that Finland attracts the best and brightest students to teaching.  The pay is not bad, nor is it exceptional - it is average.  Despite this, their teachers are dedicated and their results are undeniable.

I feel it is our charge as urban educators to consider the type of reform it would take to create a system that praises, not blames, teachers - that successfully supports the whole child - that fairly evaluates both teachers and students.  In the last fifty years, we have seen Finland gradually renovate their entire educational system and subsequently thrive.  Enough of this "number one" business - what about us?  This is our time to act.

The question is - where do we start?

A Short Piece on Bullying

A Short Piece on Bullying

By: Justin Garritt

86% of students between the ages of 12-15 have been bullied at school. Every seven minutes there is a bullying incident at recess and every 25 minutes there is a bullying incident in the classroom according to a study by Dorta in 2007.  Webster’s Dictionary describes bullying as the repeated harmful actions by one child or children against another. Physical, or direct, bullying includes kicking, pushing, and engaging in rough play. Physiological bullying includes name calling, making faces, harassment, and threats. Gerald Walton, an educational researcher from Queen’s University says that it is impossible for a student to fully engage in their school work if they have to worry about being bullied.  

           

All over the news and in legislation, bullying and bullying prevention seem to have become a very hot topic for Americans. We constantly see stories about how bullying has resulted in suicides, attempted suicides, intentional overdosing, depression, etc. Personally speaking, throughout my two years in Baltimore, I have seen an unbelievable amount of bullying take place in almost every section of the school environment. I have seen hundreds of bullying episodes happen, reported, and nothing be done about the situation beyond at the teacher level. I believe we must do more to address the issue of bullying so that all our students can have a safe place to learn.

Educational Researcher, G. Walton, believes that, “The most important piece to bullying prevention are school administrators because they are the ones that usually create the Bullying Prevention Plan, create in-service professional development days and the ones usually handling the bully when he or she is sent to the principal’s office. He states, “A school administrator needs to have a clear vision and implement plans on ways to deal with bullying.”

In college I had the opportunity to be mentored by a Principal at my local elementary school during my student teaching experience. Her school had the lowest accounts of bullying out of anyone else in the state of Vermont. Although the environment and culture is much different than Baltimore, I decided to use this blog entry to learn new strategies to prevent bullying from a veteran principal. 

Carol Pickett is the Principal of Castleton Elementary School and has been there for a dozen years. She has taken on bullying at her school through a variety of ways. First, she developed a short and concise four page Bullying Prevention Plan that first states what bullying is and then describes ways that the school will deal with it.  She says that what she believes characterizes a successful school-based action plan is that it must include clear and logical consequences for those children who bully, support to those children being bullied, and instruction to all children that emphasizes respect and compassion for others, and positive ways that children can resolve disagreements or conflicts. She said, “Justin, the key is to just immediately end it. If I hear even the slightest complaint of bullying from students or teachers, I hold a meeting in which I listen to the event and then immediately act on it. I do not tolerate any bullying! The staff, the students, and the parents know that.” Pickett recognizes that the most frequent areas of bullying occur in the hallways and at recess. Mrs. Pickett requires that teachers stand outside their door while students are switching between classes. She also requires there to be a 1-10 teacher to student ratio during recess. At every activity (kickball, capture the flag, basketball. . i.e.)  there is at least one teacher or aid to watch what is going on. Sheri Nichols, the administrative assistant, posts many opportunities for employees to get professional training for free on how to deal with bullies in the “AM Morning Notes” that get sent out to the teachers daily. In an interview with her she said, “At least one in-service day per year is dedicated to bullying. On top of this, all teachers have the opportunity attend other conferences to get better trained if they want to. The school pays for it and it does not count as a sick day.                            

What really sets Castleton Elementary so far above most schools is their “Program Strategies” that Principal Pickett and her teachers have implemented. She teamed up with the nearby college to get mentors for all middle school students. Not only are the students learning about setting goals, and steps to college but having an extra 50 supervisors at recess daily will surely minimize any chance of bullying at lunch or recess. There is also a Leadership Team and a Gentlemen’s Club where a selected group of student’s meet once a week with either the Principal or a teacher to discuss being a good role-model and leader. These students get trained on how to handle a bully and who to tell about it. Mrs. Pickett and the teachers have also created a warm and positive school by having encouraging posters with bright colors that surround the school

Since I was a child I witnessed all types of bullies. I remember kids getting beat up in the hallway because they wore nice clothes. I remember my friend getting name-called in 4^th grade because he couldn’t successfully throw a football yet. These were the same students who either later on dropped out or never graduated from high school or had severe depression issues. Very similar to my current experience in Baltimore, the school I attended as a child and its employees seemed to never address the situation and just let it happen. I thought most schools were run like this until I walked in to Castleton Elementary School where the Principal has set up a great system of prevention along with a clear set and fair plan of how to deal with issues when they arise.

I look forward to hearing any comments you have in regards to bullying at your school and what, if anything, is being done at the administrative or teacher level to address it so that all students feel safe to learn, free from bullying.

Thanks for reading,

Justin Garritt

SPI: Great in theory?

The current shift in education reform in the wake of No Child Left Behind is a new accountability measure called School Progress Index (SPI). A school’s SPI is determined by their Annual Measurable Objectives (AMO). Based on achievement, closing achievement gaps, and growth, schools are placed in strands—1 being the best and 5 being worst.

This new system has many pros: the SPI is growth based with goals for each individual school. It is not one size fits all policy. There is a new focus on science with a targeted focus on closing achievement gaps. At first glance, as with anything in education, it seems like a good plan—a good plan in theory, anyway.

One main problem is: How will the data be used? As we have seen in class, Booker T is a strand 2 while a KIPP is a strand 4 (I’m sure both schools are doing great things). What message does this send to parents, though? Who is meant to use this data and how? AYP was used as a mainstream way of saying what type of school you were sending your child to. Should SPI be used this way? Won’t it be? Won’t it send a very weird message to parents?

Does this individual school growth mindset create hope? A “we are improving” mentality? Or does it send false hope—that Booker T is considered “better” than KIPP? The bar was clearly set too high at 100% for NCLB and while this goal is realistic and perhaps attainable, is the bar now set too low?

While this goal may be attainable, it uses the MSA and HSA to measure achievement. Wait a sec—MSA is gone in the next few years and PARCC is in. Hmm—aren’t we doing this backwards? Shouldn’t we have the assessment when we are setting what the goal should be? What if this PARCC assessment doesn’t measure what we want it to? What if it’s ridiculously difficult? What if every school ends up a strand 4 or 5? Then in 10 years we’ll be laughing at how unattainable the goals set were. The point is—how can we tell if we are setting attainable, realistic and challenging goals if we don’t even know what the assessment will be?

When it comes to closing gaps, what about schools who aren’t particularly diverse? How will they measure this in a school say where there are 400 white students and 1 or 2 minority students? Or schools with only 1 or 2 English Language Learners? Is it really logical to put 40% of the SPI on the performance of just a few students? At some schools, this might be the case. Of course, I am all for closing achievement gaps and helping those students whether there is 1 or 50, but it seems like the data will be very skewed in some ways.

Also, isn’t this blatantly unfair to high performing schools? They don’t have as much growth to make, and they are doing perfectly fine—let’s punish them! It makes no sense. What does happen to schools in Strand 4 and 5?  Let’s look at the case of the KIPP strand 4 school. Baltimore City says strand 4 schools will have: improvement of instruction, the replacement or retraining of the leadership staff and intensified outreach to families to become involved with their child’s school. Wait—doesn’t KIPP know what it’s doing already? Shouldn’t this be for low performing schools? The school with achievement in the 30% range, not in the 80% range?

Is SPI an improvement? Definitely. Is it flawed? Definitely. Will it make for some very interesting implications? Definitely. But the real question is—will it actually help our students?

Are your classes 45 minutes? 60? 70? 90?  Mine are 45 minutes and I find that I often end my classes wishing that I had just a few more minutes to bring it all together.  But with that said I can see how 90 minutes could be a behavioral and lesson planning nightmare?  My question that I want to ask the class is how would you schedule your day if you could choose the system?  Longer or shorter periods?  Block scheduling versus traditional schedules? 

An interesting perspective is from Atlas Prep in Colorado Springs, it is a free charter school and it has 60 minute periods not 45, not 90.  And the best part is that once a week every teacher has the day off!  Meaning that they have to come to school but they just sit their take coach class if schedules, prepare lessons for the next week, track, and (GASP) look at data?  http://www.atlasprep.org/

There are many strategies out there to schedule the schedule.  I am wondering what does everyone else think is the optimal schedule for maximum academic achievement. 

Nick

The Boys at the Back

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Christina Hoff Sommers writes an opinion piece for the New York Times, The Boys at the Back, and describes the disparity between boys and girls in the education system, especially boys of color.  Although boys and girls generally score the same on standardized tests, boys generally receive lower grades and have a much lower graduation rate and enrollment in AP classes.  She largely attributes this to behavior, since behavior factors into many classroom grading systems, mine included.  Another poignant point that comes out of this article is the comment that we cannot simply write off restless and unfocused boys by stating that the workforce, or ‘real’ world, does not reward such behavior.  We have to remember that these are children, and not adults.  Furthermore, Sommers reiterates that “improving the performance of black, Latino and lower-income kids require particular attention to boys”.  More attention must be made to satisfying the needs and overcoming the challenges associated with educating urban boys if we really are going to turn Baltimore City schools around.  The achievement gap we so often talk about is not just between income brackets and neighboring counties, it exists right here in our classrooms.   

Now the real question is how is this accomplished? 

What are you currently doing in your classroom s to ensure the gender gap does not widen even more?   

The Secret to Fixing Bad Schools

What would it really take to give students a first-rate education?

This question has been presented to educators, administrators, policy makers, and just about anyone who has interest in our education system for years now. At a first glance some educators may think that this article has nothing to do with them because they may not be associated with a "Bad School." However, if we look past the wording in the title, this outstanding Opinion piece by David Kirp, a professor of public policy at U.C. Berkeley and really look into the substance of what they are doing in the public schools in Union City, NJ we will learn that when it comes to “fixing bad schools” there are no silver bullets. There are no quick fixes outlined here for anyone, there is simply hard work and leadership that encourages teachers to engage their students in meaningful ways with the content and beyond.

What is made apparent within this article is the concept that success can be accomplished anywhere when you are creative in your approach to developing strategies for the students. Additionally, more can be done when you have effective  talent leading and supporting teachers who work extremely hard to teach their students and realize their potential. If "bad schools" are up for the challenge they too can have their success story!

The article can be found at:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/10/opinion/sunday/the-secret-to-fixing-bad-schools.html?ref=opinion&_r=1&