Orchard+Gardens,+Boston,+Mass

At the 2012 DNC, Mass Governor Deval Patrick said about this school: "What's at stake is real. The Orchard Gardens Elementary School in Boston was in trouble. Its record was poor, its spirit was broken, and its reputation was a wreck. No matter how bad things were in other urban schools in the city, people would say, "At least we're not Orchard Gardens." Today, thanks to a host of new tools, many enacted with the help of the Obama administration, Orchard Gardens is turning itself around. Teaching standards and accountabilities are higher. The school day is longer and filled with experiential learning, art, exercise and music.

The head of pediatric psychology from a local hospital comes to consult with faculty and parents on the toughest personal situations in students' home lives. Attendance is up, thanks to a mentoring initiative. In less than a year, Orchard Gardens went from one of the worst schools in the district to one of the best in the state. The whole school community is engaged and proud."

School replaced 80% of teachers in turnaround effort. http://www.wbur.org/2012/06/05/orchard-gardens-turnaround

I went to the Massachusetts Department of Education website and checked their latest numbers. For 8th grade: English 52% vs 79%, Math 13% vs 52%, Science 1% vs 39%

http://profiles.doe.mass.edu/mcas/performance_level.aspx?linkid=32&orgcode=00350257&orgtypecode=6&