ABSTRACT
The first case chapter profiles Edgecombe County Public Schools, a sparsely populated rural district in northeastern North Carolina that serves a predominantly Black student body. In response to the district’s designation as a low-performing district, Superintendent Valerie Bridges used a strategy of acceleration rather than remediation, as she introduced project-based learning, social and emotional learning, and restorative practices, a Spanish immersion program, and an Early College High School, among other reforms. Within two years under Bridges’ leadership, the district saw substantial progress on reading and math scores, graduation rates, and suspension rates and, more importantly, had planted transformative program changes in the schools serving the highest need students.
