of the 30 worst performing schools in the state of North Carolina.

>>The things that I saw when I got here were children just running up

and down the halls, hollering, screaming,

just a level of almost mayhem.

>>Joshua: A fair amount of them come without any resources at all.

Some days our children go home and they may not have a home to go to.

Some days our children go home and there may not be food.

>>There was a lotta teacher turnover back then and I think we were

in a mentality where it was just about teachers surviving.

>>There used to be bullies.

Like the bullies, like make you scared, like you didn't even want

to look at them, because they were like, "You have a problem?"

>>Shana: Back at that time, it kinda felt

like the students were running the school in a sense.

>>Angela: I quit my first year here,

because it was just so difficult for me.

>>Shana: We had a principal that came in, maybe in September,

October of the school year.

She spent the first coupla months just identifying everything

that we needed to change about the school.

Number one thing is, we had to look at our staff.

If you weren't here for the kids, this wasn't the place for you.

>>Angela: The new principal who came in at the time, she called me

and she said, 'Miss Johnson, we really need you.

We know that you're a phenomenal teacher.

Could you please just come back?'

And my only request from her was if I come back,

something has to be different.

>>Shana: Then once we got all of the right people, that's when we began

to look at what we were doing in the classroom

and why our kids weren't getting it.

And we found the root of that to be the way

that we were teaching our students.

>>Once we go over each of these big pieces

of the lesson planning process, you need to go back

to your plans and adjust.

Implement whatever we've learned in the session, correct it,

revise it, do whatever that may be.

>>Four teachers from our school went to a training in Atlanta to look

at this new instructional model,

and that's when we brought in the non negotiables.

>>-- essential question and then we have our key vocabulary.

Then we went to essential

and hot water thinking questions, which we spent time on.

>>Joshua: I think the biggest thing that we've had to focus

on here is creating a professional development plan that's consistent.

What does research show that really works?

And then being consistent in the implementation across multiple years.

>>Shana: 'How do you craft questions?'

will be one question, and then what?

[All:] How do we challenge our students?

How do we challenge our students?

>>Angela: Now we have collaborative learning where students are on board,

and they are participating.

And they know what to expect.

So there's a huge difference between what it was

like four years ago and now.

>>And how like they dress or do something in public.

So they're sagging, or something like that?

And like the stereotypical ways, like they come from a bad home or they're

like around bad people or something like that.

>>Angela: Okay, so you answered two questions in one.

You talked about the character motivations and then you went

into one of the hot Qs, which was generalizations and stereotypes.

>>Shana: If I were to give some advice to any teachers, staff,

schools that are in our situation or similar,

the one thing that I would tell them is, you have to be intentional

about building relationships with your students, so that they will want

to work and want to be successful.

It feels good when you can walk

around every classroom and kids are engaged.

It's a great thing when students talk about teachers

that they have good relationships with.

>>Labria: I think the teachers here,

they are so hands on, and they'll come to you.

And I think Miss Johnson cares a lot.

What is that?

That looks like a cloud.

Yeah, Do the little ruffle thingies.

Maybe you can put layers of those- Okay, good.

>>Joshua: It's all about relationships for us.

Having those relationships with our staff, with each other

and with our students, that's what works.

That's what makes a difference here at Cochrane.

>>Angela: The reason why I do what I do is for my students.

If I didn't get the results that I got,

if I didn't see their faces every day,

there would be no point in me being here.

The gift that I receive more so than monetary gifts is knowing

that my students are empowered.