Brockton High School is made up of 4,100 students and is the largest public high school in Massachusetts. Only about a decade ago the motto of this school was "students have a right to fail if they want." Only a quarter of students passed state exam and one in three students dropped out.
This all changed when Susan Szachowicz and a few other teachers decided to alter the school curriculum. They approached the administration and got permission to launch a new campaign that involved incorporating reading and writing into every class, including gym.
Brockton soon made a huge turnaround and became the exception to the widely accepted idea that smaller schools are better. In 2001, more students passed state tests after failing the year before than any other school in Massachusetts. Brockton also outperformed 90 percent of Massachusetts schools both this year and last year. To read the full article by Sam Dillon, visit The New York Times online.
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