This high-poverty district learned to think differently about teaching and learning

 HECHINGERREPORT | St. Mary Parish knew change was needed. By the mid-2000s, the state of Louisiana had placed several of its schools in “academic assistance,” a designation for schools that fail to improve sufficiently. Some had remained there for nearly 10 years. Meanwhile, the rural district’s test scores lagged behind the state average. By 2016, the high-poverty school district had turned around.