Welcome to ASBJ - NO ORDINARY DAY | ASBJ

District provides basic necessities

Vancouver, Washington
Literacy focus boosts reading skills

Houston, Texas
Address trauma; raise achievement

Topeka, Kansas
High school on a college campus

Anoka-Hennepin, Minnesota
Elementary Expeditions

Decatur, Georgia
Student-run business sparks inclusion

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Vancouver, Washington
Houston, Texas
Topeka, Kansas
Anoka-Hennepin, Minnesota
Decatur, Georgia
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Travel with us to six innovative districts

We are defenders of the status quo, resistant to meaningful change. Our public schools rely on one-size-fits-all solutions that ignore the needs of students.

Those who seek to dismantle the institution of public schools paint a dismal picture of public schools as places of dreary conformity and failure. It’s spin, not truth.

What is true? Some students show up to school ready to learn, with clean clothes and a full stomach. Some don’t. Some come from stable families, take vacations, and visit public libraries. Some don’t. Public schools take them all—the hungry and the full, the healthy and the hurt, the strong and the vulnerable.

School leaders—school board members, superintendents, administrators, teachers—are on the leading edge of reform. They break down the barriers to achievement for their students, sometimes against all odds.

American School Board Journal chose six school districts that exemplify this spirit of innovation and reform. The editors traveled all over the country to visit these districts and their communities.

This special multimedia project presents district stories not only through words, but also through videos and photos and infographics.

These stories and many others offer proof: There are no ordinary public schools, and there is no ordinary day in public schools.