Giving Compass' Take:

• Mike Gaskell, principal of Hammarskjold Middle School in New Jersey, describes how he used a reading initiative help integrate an in-flux of unexpected students.

• How can donors help schools leverage their existing resources to create support programs for students in need?

• Learn how data can help educators rethink school discipline. 

If you have ever seen the movie "The Blindside," you can appreciate that given the right conditions, regardless of a child's upbringing, he or she can succeed beyond all expectations. The premise of this story is that a child faced with nightmarish circumstances was able to excel because, like so many children facing these circumstances, he possessed a beauty inside that was hidden until the right person took notice.

Schools can do the same, but we must be creative — even unconventional. That is the purpose of a program we began at my school, which has accomplished the goal of reaching children who do not receive the same opportunities as others. The results have been extraordinary, and as a result, I thought it was well worth sharing, because it is something that any school with the desire to do so can reproduce in any school community.

To understand how this powerful program works so effectively, coupled with its simplicity, know that it's a program that is not only reproducible but works far better than any expensive outsourced or commercial programs. I discovered when the town’s preschool program was unexpectedly moved to my middle school that I could utilize existing resources to help children in troubling circumstances. The evolution of how we ended up utilizing this is compelling and made a substantial impact on my school community.

Read the full article about disrupting the discipline cycle by Mike Gaskell at Education Dive.