NEED TO KNOW for Friday, February 11th on PBS at 8:30 p.m. (check local listings). Episode #140.

You can preview the program here: http://to.pbs.org/educationhour

As the nation debates how to get the best performance out of students and teachers, PBS's Need to Know presents an hour devoted to success stories in teaching.  The program highlights three dramatic stories of academic transformation – focusing on literacy, physical education and science education.

Need to Know’s Alison Stewart also leads a lively discussion with education reformers about practical solutions that work.

SEGMENTS INCLUDE:

Brockton High proves that big schools can be top schools

In 1998, when Massachusetts implemented new standardized testing, administrators at Brockton High School, the largest public school in the state, learned that more than 75 percent of their 4,000 students would fail to graduate. But thanks to a small group of dedicated teachers who implemented a school-wide program to bring reading and writing lessons into every classroom, even gym, Brockton is now one of the highest performing schools in the state.

Brockton’s principal, Susan Szachowicz, says, "I think the concept of turnaround is one of the most deceptive words that you can use.  Because it implies people from the outside leaping into the school to turn everything around…We did not fire all the teachers.  We did work with a team that we had.  And we had some pretty dramatic results."

Physical education spurs higher test scores in Naperville, Illinois

While physical education has been drastically cut back across the country -- in response to budget concerns and test score pressures -- Naperville Central High School, in the Chicago suburbs, has embraced a culture of fitness: PE is a daily, graded requirement.  And for one group of struggling students, there’s an innovative program to schedule PE right before their most challenging classes.  In the six years since that program started, students who signed up for PE directly before English read on average a half year ahead of those who didn’t, and students who took PE before math showed dramatic improvement in their standardized tests.

Reinventing science education at one Maryland university

Most people agree that for the U.S. to remain competitive in the global economy, we need more people in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).  But today, two-thirds of college students who start out majoring in the sciences end up switching concentrations.

One university in Maryland is bucking that trend. Under the leadership of Dr. Freeman Hrabowski, the University of Maryland, Baltimore County is transforming the way science is taught, emphasizing lab settings and small group problem solving.  The results:  more students majoring in subjects like chemistry and more students passing the class.  The University has also been a leader in minority achievement in STEM fields.  In the school’s Meyeroff Scholars Program, which focuses on high-achieving minority students, nearly 90 percent graduate with degrees in science or engineering.

PANELISTS:

Dr. Susan Szachowicz, principal of Brockton High School in Massachusetts and one of the reform leaders

Zakiyah Ansari, parent leader with the Coalition for Educational Justice in New York

Dr. Pedro Noguera, Professor of Education at New York University and author of "The Trouble with Black Boys…And Other Reflections on Race, Equity and the Future of Public Education" 

WEB COMPONENT:

Because we believe this program will inspire other great teachers to want to share their secrets of success, Need to Know is asking educators to send in videos of their best ideas for improving public education.

NEED TO KNOW is a production of Creative News Group for WNET.ORG. Viewers can visit www.pbs.org/needtoknow for updates on these stories and more. Note: Stories are subject to change due to breaking news.