By Cathy Gassenheimer

It’s been two weeks, and I am still energized by our A+ Board and Council meeting at Winterboro School in Talladega County.

I’ve blogged about Winterboro before. It is a rural school where an estimated 40% of students will be first-generation high school graduates. Unfortunately, until this year, many of the students were leaving school before they graduated. Last year, because of the drop-out rate, the school moved into the first year of school improvement.

Superintendent Suzanne Lacey and her very talented and committed staff decided to take action. They had been studying New Tech schools, and had visited several in California and Indiana, but the cost...
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By Cathy Gassenheimer

Many educators dream of a school environment where the curriculum is driven by projects and problem-based activities that challenge all students to learn more deeply and apply what they learn to the real world.

Some educators believe this kind of schooling simply isn’t possible in today’s high-stakes accountability environment. Winterboro School in rural Talladega County is out to prove them wrong.

Winterboro serves students in grades 5-12, about 85 percent of whom are on free or reduced lunch. As far as state testing benchmarks, the school has consistently met those, but it didn't take a fortune teller to see problems lying ahead... Read More...