Test scores have shot up, and violence has practically vanished. The change is dramatic and real. Mastery's model has caught the attention of national educators and is one the school district should replicate.
Listen to Kevin Tolbert, 15, explain what the days used to be like before fall 2007, when Mastery took over Clarence E. Pickett Middle School in Germantown.
"There was nothing good about it," Tolbert said. "There were fights every day. The security guards would just watch as kids got beat up. The teachers didn't teach, and the students could roam the halls whenever they wanted."
Ezekiel Evans, 17, another student, could recall only one fight at Pickett this year, and it resulted in a student's expulsion.
A number of recent scandals have given charter schools in Philadelphia a bad name. But not all charters are the same. Mastery was one of 21 schools nationwide recognized for dramatic educational gains among low-income students.
Glowing national press has come from Time magazine and USA Today. The school has also caught the attention of the White House, which plans to pump $4 billion into the 5,000 worst-performing schools in the country. U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan visited a Mastery school in September.
Superintendent Arlene Ackerman has what many think is a bold plan to let outside operators take control of a handful of Philadelphia's worst-performing schools. If anything, her plan doesn't go far enough, fast enough. But she has the right idea.
Mastery's success shows a turnaround doesn't take years or just money. What it really takes is the right leadership, a safe environment, good teachers, and a laser focus on what really matters: educating children.
