An Incredible Public School Option That Would Never Have Come from the Top-Down

Having to dance at school would be torture for some kids, but incorporating dance into the public school day is heaven for others.

Gabriella Charter School in Los Angeles is scoring exceptionally well on standardized state exams, despite the fact that over 90% of the students are classified as economically disadvantaged. In addition to dance, Gabriella Charter School also places particular emphasis on music and arts for its K-8 students. 

This innovative California public charter school has found a way to not only keep kids moving during the day but also to raise their academic performance. Again, bottom-up solutions like this one have the potential to reach kids in ways that top-down methods struggle to do.

When parents have choices like these, they can find  just-right fit for their students. Charter schools have huge incentives to perform well academically and keep parents happy. If they don't, their charters will be withdrawn and the students will transfer to other schools. But that doesn't seem to be any kind of threat for Gabriella Charter School. Check out these testimonials from parents.