What Does It Really Take? A Case Study of Public School Excellence in Spite of It All

Abstract

SASA students consistently earn state and national recognition. And yet, for the last 40 years the school has resided in a windowless Montgomery Ward department store in a blighted area of a city that chronically suffers from high levels of unemployment, poverty, and crime. This Case Study asks ‘What does it take to be excellent in spite of it all’ and ‘what lessons can the SASA model offer to other schools’?