As Ted Gorman steps into his new role as superintendent at the Jefferson County Joint Vocational School, he does so with excitement and great expectations for the future. Gorman, who spent more than ...

Successful schools share a few common traits. The first is an intense leadership focus on early literacy achievement — without excuses.

Three of the schools featured were built in the late 1800s and others in the early 1900s. Some are still schools and others ...