President Barack Obama:
I say I am not willing to give up on any school in America. We can see it in Mastery Charter School, in Philadelphia, where four times as many students are proficient in math, and violence is down 80 percent compared to just a few years ago.
Voice:
The story of the Shoemaker campus is a powerful example of school turnaround in action. Shoemaker campus is formally known as Shoemaker Middle School before it was taken over by the Mastery Charter School network in 2006.
Beige shirt
There are a lot of stories told about Mastery before the takeover.
Student:
I heard that it was it was in complete anarchy. The students ran wild.
Student 2:
It was just really a playground to me, just come to school to hang with your friends so you won't have to stay home.
Student 3:
The teachers wouldn't really pay attention to you or worry about doing your work or turning in your work.
Teacher:
When you came in there were students in the hallways everywhere, even though it was class time. A lot of noise, a lot of yelling, a lot of cursing.
Student 4:
They were always fighting, there was like no structure in the school. The kids could just walk out of stuff whenever they want and wouldn't really do anything.
Student 5:
It was the second worst school in the city of Philadelphia.
Voice:
In the 2005-2006 school year only 30.6 percent scored proficient or above in math and 42.8 percent in reading on state tests.
Teacher 2:
Even more concerning was the level and rate of violence.
Teacher 3:
We've heard stories about there being guns in the school, of sexual abuse happening in the school.
Student 5:
A girl was sexually assaulted.
Teacher 3:
I think academics really took a backseat. They could barely contain the students in the building nevermind actually teach them anything.
Voice:
Shoemaker has come a long way since then. Metal detectors and security guards have been replaced with bright linoleum hallways and sparkling classrooms. More importantly, the culture of violence is long gone and the culture of learning has taken its place.
Student 2:
You don't come in getting searched. You don't feel like a prisoner.
Teacher 4:
I don't think that there could be a more stark contrast between what Mastery was before and what it is now.
Teacher 1:
It was a whole new world for the students when they walked in the door, and there was no referencing to the old or the way that things were. It was everybody on one page believing in one girl.
Student 5:
Mastery did a lot. New paint. New walls. New boards. New chairs. Desks. Everything. So that kind of showed from the start that Mastery was serious with what they were saying.
Teacher 3:
I think the biggest thing was just the actual feel for the school. When you walk in it's calm, it's quiet, you know? It's a real learning environment.
Teacher 5:
I remember my prep just walking down the hall and hearing absolutely nothing in the hall. Everyone was teaching, the doors were all open, but there was no noise. I was almost like, "Wow, did the kids take the day off?"
Voice:
The Shoemaker school and Mastery motto is excellence, no excuses.
Teacher 2:
What appealed to me most about Mastery was the motto: excellence, no excuses. We are all adults. We're going to be working together to meet the needs of children.
Student 4:
The teachers and staffs all understand us, and they know what we are going through, and they make coming here a safe environment for us to learn.
Student 6:
There are teachers here that really care about their students.
Teacher 6:
Making them believe in themselves.
Teacher 7:
I know our school turned around because students are owning and managing themselves. I know that our school turned around also because of the staff that we have.
Voice:
The students at Shoemaker school have shown that they can rise to this high bar of excellence.
Teacher 3:
Evidence of the change that we have made: You can talk to the kids.
Student 5:
Our PSSA scores shot up more than double the previous year.
Teacher 2:
91 of 92 percent of them are accepted to college.
Student 7:
School should really be accountable for what impact they have made in children's lives.
Student 6:
Mastery is really really good because it gives me like an amazing education.
Student 8:
I got like all A's. That hasn't really happened before.
Student 2:
Shoemaker now is a place to learn.
Teacher 4:
So often it is said that the bar can't be too high because the kids won't achieve it, but we here at Mastery have found the exact opposite: that kids are very resilient and where you place the bar they will reach it and exceed it.
Congressman Fattah:
I am Chakah Fattah. I am a United States congressman and am a graduate of Shoemaker. We want for these young people what we should want for our own young children and that is an opportunity to live up to their potential.