Most of us know how hard it is to get out of a rut. Ruts allow us to bump along the path of least resistant. Ruts are frustrating (the bumping along is slow and sometimes leave us spinning our wheels), but it takes a lot of effort to get out of them.

But somehow, against all odds, Newton Street Elementary School is pulling itself out of the failure rut. Once a failing school with low test scores, Newton Street School now boasts double-digit increases in state test scores.

Last year longtime principal Willie Thomas struck an unusual partnership with the influential teacher’s union and Seton Hall University to remake the school. With the support of the teacher’s union, the school was able to replace some teachers. Seton Hall’s education professors took over much of the staff development. They provided workshops and extra coaching as well as equipping all faculty members with free laptops. They handed out basketballs and tickets to Seton Hall’s home games as incentives for students and their parents. And 50 Seton Hall undergrads came to tutor students.

Teachers love it. “I didn’t feel alone,” said a first-year teacher. Students love it. One boy who repeated third grade is now known as “Little Teacher” because he helps his buddies with their homework.

The school has also adopted a new parental-involvement policy that calls for parents to pledge up to one hour a day to help out in classes or at after-hours events in exchange for a chance to win prizes like a flat-screen television or microwave. The newly revived parent-teacher organization’s mantra is become involved and stay involved.

Principal Thomas notes that the activism has expanded beyond the parents to the teachers and students and, more than anything else, is responsible for driving the improvements in the classroom. “When you start taking ownership, you’re going to make it work because it’s part of you,” he said.

Change is hard. Change is work. But well-thought-out change can pull us out of a failure rut. Let’s all stand up and give Newton Street Elementary School a vigorous round of applause. They are blazing a new trail and leaving the old rut behind.

Last year I was injured in an accident; I am fortunate that I am fine. But that experience brought me a new appreciation for disabled people who continue to work, as these inspirational teachers did.

Edutopia highlights several disabled educators who have been working successfully in the classroom: Amanda Trei and Tricia Downing, who are paraplegic; Gary LeGates, who is blind; and Wendy Shugol, who has cerebral palsy.

Trei and Shugol work with K-12 special education students, and each has discovered unique ways of interacting with their students. For example, Trei turns student questions about her disability into lessons on finding alternate ways to do things. Shugol says she’s tough on her students because she knows what skills they will need to cope in the real world.

“I really don't stop to think about my disability very much. I've never looked at myself as a role model for my students. But a number of them have said they knew if I could do it, they could do it.”

Tricia Downing, a high school internship coordinator, is also a competitive bicyclist. In fact she was the first paraplegic woman to compete in an Iron Man--distance triathlon. “Sometimes, students get stuck in their teenage world, where everything's a crisis,” she says. “I've been able to get across to students that the world is bigger than their problems. My message is that life is full of challenges, but if you're willing to try to overcome them, you can find the resources within yourself.”

Gary LeGates recently retired after 30 years of teaching high school Latin and French. He had some interesting challenges as a blind teacher, such as cheating, that he handled by recruiting hall monitors and community volunteers to watch students during tests. Despite the challenges, he won over his students. One student told him, “You don’t look at what we look like; you look at the heart.” Principal John Seaman talked about the example LeGates set—of hard work, perseverance, and scholarship. “I'm convinced that our students have gained an understanding that having an obvious handicap does not preclude someone from being a professional and an intellectual.”

I know I’m stating the obvious when I say that it’s these teachers’ abilities that set them apart, not their disabilities.

A little bit can go along way especially when people work together. That was certainly the case for a Tucson, Arizona, student community service project. One Hohokam Middle School “think-tank” class began with a camera—which, in a sense, was a gift from teachers--and a PowerPoint presentation. Four classes later, broken glass, debris, dirt, and puddles of water are being replaced by a sidewalk path to school protected from nearby busy traffic.