Improving a School

Hope springs eternal, or so the old maxim goes -- but is there hope for a middle school in New Jersey that lags behind expected standards and shows only vague signs of being able to lift itself up out of the morass of failure?

Indeed, what is to be done for the students and the community their families live in when their public school is a violent place where chaos rules? What is the solution for a public middle school when student achievement is below acceptable levels and when the school is actually unsafe? And further, what is the solution for a school -- Grace Dunn Middle School in Trenton, New Jersey -- that is poorly maintained and there is a near-constant turnover of teachers?

These are some of the issues that face Grace Dunn Middle School. There are several more important issues that must be addressed...
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