Jennings County, Indiana
Working on the Work started four years ago at Hayden Elementary School in Jennings County, Indiana when teachers were introduced to the key concepts underlying the WOW framework. From that day forward, the staff has engaged in ongoing development to become designers of high-content, engaging work for staff. The school received several Indiana honors; e.g., listed in the Top Percent School List and a Four Star School for outstanding achievement (in Mathematics, Language Arts and Total Testing scores, and in Attendance). Then Hayden Elementary was named a Lighthouse School completing professional development to implement and model successful school reform. Principal Judy Love credits Working on the Work as a means of "creating a different way of working and a different way of doing school." At Hayden Elementary, student attendance has increased, fewer students are being retained, discipline referrals have been dramatically reduced, and more and more parents are engaged in their children's education. In addition, test scores on the ISTEP continue to rise, despite increases in the number of students who qualify for free and reduced lunch and the number of students enrolled in special education classes. The school has impacted the entire Jennings County Public School District, and today all schools are engaged in this work.

Broward County Schools, Florida
Parkside Elementary was started in 1999 as a Working on the Work (WOW) School. The elementary school serves a highly diverse student population of 1,200. Every teacher is committed to designing engaging work for students. Every staff meeting is designed for teachers to share their lessons and get feedback from their peers to improve their work for students. The staff has created a set of process measures to determine if students are authentically engaged. This information is used purposefully to rethink the work that was provided to students. In spring 2002, Schlechty Center held a national principals workshop at this school and its principal Sue Colton now works at the district level leading others throughout the district in leading change and building capacity at the district and school levels.

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