Myths Left Behind

Fairfax County's Graham Road Elementary dispels the notion that achievement gaps are inevitable.

THE TEACHING staff at Fairfax County's Graham Road Elementary School doesn't waste time talking about things in their students' lives they can't control. Many of their students come from low-income families; they live in homes that are fragmented or where English is never spoken. Graham Road teachers focus, instead, on the factors they can control, such as having a rich curriculum, setting high expectations and providing better teaching. This year, every Graham Road sixth-grader met state reading standards -- 70 percent of them exceeded the standards -- and 96 percent met state math standards. The achievement levels exceeded those of most schools in the state.

Graham Road was one of four schools recently singled out by the Education Trust for success in teaching low-income and minority students. The awards, now in their sixth year, are aptly named "Dispelling the Myth." The schools, as Education Trust President Kati Haycock said, shatter "the misguided and dangerous belief that achievement gaps are inevitable." No matter how difficult or intractable the problems in a child's life, dedicated and effective educators can make a difference.

Just look, for example, at Molly Bensinger-Lacy, Graham Road's principal. When she took over in 2003, the Falls Church school's academic performance was abysmal. Middle-class parents had fled as children of recent immigrants moved in. Faced with faculty who had given up, she spent the first years weeding out ineffective teachers and changing the culture of instruction. Today, Graham Road has a staff that shares the principal's belief that every child can achieve at high levels. Make no mistake: There are no easy solutions, and such turnarounds require constant attention and hard work. But the success of Graham Road and the three other schools (Norfolk Elementary in Arkansas, Roxbury Preparatory Charter School in Massachusetts and Wells Elementary in Ohio) is noteworthy. Instead of surrendering to the myth, as too many other schools have done, they have conclusively disproved it.