A Study in Pride, Progress

The memo Dawson prepared, "Justification for the AYP Determination," was a defense of the progress of just 43 students, the sum total of the school's remaining third- and fifth-graders, the only grades tested last spring.

Dawson sent the data and supporting memos to Richmond, and in mid-November, like a high school senior looking up his SAT score, he used his password to log on to the state's Web site.

Just as he had hoped, Maury had made Adequate Yearly Progress. The word spread quickly.

Mary Jo Smet, who has a third-grader at Maury, credits many people for the gains. "We have a wonderful principal . . . and the hardest-working teachers in the city," she said. "I think the parents who are there have made a commitment to make it work. It is a confluence of energy and effort."

Jackson said her staff of 50 was "ecstatic."

"Making AYP is a validation of all that we know our students are doing," she said.

But, she added, the work was only beginning. This spring, for the first time, Virginia schools will be giving the SOL tests to all grades from third through eighth, and Maury must continue to improve or once again be labeled a needs-improvement school.

Jackson has continued the after-school classes. Her teachers are attending meetings and workshops. There will be more tutoring in the lower grades and more attention to creating a vibrant school climate, including this year's introduction of blue and khaki uniforms for all students.

Jackson noted that enrollment is up 20 percent, to 157, a sign that the loss of students that came with being on the federal needs-improvement list has been reversed.

"I'm overjoyed, because I know how extremely hard my staff worked," Jackson said.