SAN DIEGO – The media does not give much coverage to the National School Boards Association’s Council of Urban Boards of Education (CUBE). Those boards preside over the nation’s largest – and most criticized – school systems. After I gave a keynote address last week to CUBE’s 66th annual conference, I had an opportunity to meet with school board members from around the county. I was impressed not only by their dedication, but with the kind of innovation taking place in some large school systems.

Generally, the news media and public officials are quicker to point out the failures of public education than to give them credit for the advances that are being made.

For example, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) said last December 7 in a statement: “…The United States ranks 24th of 29 industrialized countries when it comes to math literacy among 15 year old students. In their most recent round of testing, the Program for International Student Assessment finds that the United States falls behind such countries as Finland, Korea, Canada, the Czech Republic, Ireland, Luxembourg, Poland, Hungary, Spain and, yes, France.

“Even more depressingly, these dismal results are consistent with previous international comparisons. American students lag far behind their industrialized cousins in the basic skills of math, reading and science. Contrary to the clamor of the education lobby, it is not for lack of money. The U.S. spends 30 to 80 percent more per pupil than other industrialized nations.”

Amid those depressing statistics, however, there are some hopeful signs of progress.

Chattanooga, Tenn. has made remarkable progress by pairing the highest-performing teachers with the lowest-performing inner-city schools. Teachers who take on the challenge of improving nine schools that Tennessee had ranked among the 20 worst schools in the state are awarded a $5,000 bonus and can earn an additional $2,000 bonus if students meet certain goals. In addition, the teachers are eligible to receive a $10,000 loan if they want to buy in one of the downtown neighborhoods; they get free tuition to earn their master’s degrees and are provided free services by local lawyers. This is made possible by the Community Education Alliance, a group of prominent business leaders, private foundations heads and elected officials formed to improve public education.

In an unusual move, the superintendent was empowered to remove any underperforming teachers from the nine schools. Then, he asked each principal to take on one or two of the weak teachers previously assigned to underperforming schools. The principals were charged with helping the teachers improve or assist in documenting their incompetence, paving the way for their dismissal.

The result?

Students in the inner city schools singled out for special attention test scores have improved at a rate that is almost double that of suburban schools. Tennessee isn’t the only state making progress.

In Florida, the state legislature established a Corporate Tax Credit Scholarship Program that allows a corporation to direct up to 75 percent of its state income tax to a nonprofit scholarship organization. Under the plan, 100 percent of the funds must go to children that meet the federal poverty guidelines.

People that have obtained bachelor’s degrees in Arizona, but initially had no plans to enter the classroom can now be certified to teach in elementary and high schools by completing an on-line learning program offered by Rio Salado College in Phoenix.

The bi-partisan Colorado Commission for High School Improvement has recommended that all high school seniors be required to apply to college. While it is understood that not every student will go on to college, making them go through the application process means more students are likely enroll.

Individuals are also being creative.

In the question-and-answer session that followed my speech, one educator complained about the lack of parental support. Later, Connie Rickman, a board member of Tacoma, Washington School District 10, recalled the approach she took when she was teaching.

“I didn’t say anything [during the Q & A session] because I didn’t want to come across as a know-it-all,” she told me. “Before each school year, I would review each student’s file and find at least one positive thing to say about them. I would write each parent, telling them what I had noticed, and requested to visit them in their homes. When I did that, I didn’t have any problem with a lack of parental involvement. There’s nothing magical about this.”

There are a lot of magical things going on in urban education. Even more magical things could take place if local communities would rally around our public schools.