Beat the Odds began as a research study that wanted to answer a pretty straightforward question – What does it take to get great results in schools with mostly low-income, mostly Latino students?  In the hunt for answers, the research team identified six basic principles of success that characterize successful schools.

While the report offers strong recommendations for policy changes in education – drive authority downward to principals, launch a major talent initiative for new teachers, reward collaboration and classroom success – the study also concluded that “…the magic is in within the school itself. Successful schools focus on improving the things they actually can control that will make a big difference in student achievement.”  

The response to the study was so immediate and widespread that over the past months the Center has met with hundreds of educators and leaders to discuss how the study findings can be implemented in Arizona schools.

Beat the Odds is not a lock-step program.  The six keys to success are a framework, a prism through which school leaders can look at what’s going on in their school, confront the facts, and then take disciplined action.