Sometimes the problem seems small: A student doesn’t have a clean uniform and is embarrassed to show up at school. Sometimes the problem seems huge: A 21-year-old high school dropout wants to earn a diploma but is too old to finish school.

Regardless of the size of the problem, the consequence is devastating: Students aren’t getting the education they need. But across the country, pioneering educators are creating solutions to some of the timeless challenges plaguing our school system.

Check the most innovative schools we’ve written about this year.

  • In 1991, a group of education leaders entered a grant competition to design a whole-school model that could turn around low-performing schools. Now, 25 years later, they have spread their winning model across 165 schools, 30 states, and 1 million students. It’s called EL Education, and it places deeper learning expeditions and character development — rather than just test scores — at the heart of its mission.
  • The education odds for foster students are dire: They are twice as likely to drop out of high school, and only 2 percent earn a four-year degree. But Monument Academy is trying to fill the gaps for this high-needs population. The school houses students from Sunday to Friday in a boarding home run by house parents who give them a consistent adult connection. It provides personalized education and social-emotional support, and teaches skills that children in foster care often miss, like cooking, cleaning, and finances.
  • The Denver School of Science & Technology knows how to throw an end-of-year party: with a stadium-style celebration for its students who have been accepted to college. And that party is for all of them, as the school network has had 100 percent of its students receive acceptance letters from four-year colleges over its 10-year history.

Read the full article about the most innovative schools from 2017 by Kate Stringer at The 74.