This principal went to the worst middle school in Tennessee and started an honors academy

This principal went to the worst middle school in Tennessee and started an honors academy

Three years ago, Principal Deartis Barber III had a proposition for his staff at Georgian Hills Middle School: Leave a school with multiple years of test-score growth and improvement, and go with him to the worst middle school in the state. Help provide meaningful experiences to kids who have never been expected to succeed, he challenged them. About 25 staff members bought into his vision and followed him to Grandview Heights Middle School in Frayser.