This week, we’re running a Southern Education Desk series on turnaround schools: failing schools that have managed to pull themselves back from the edge and thrive. Statistics show the odds are stacked heavily against these schools, so how do they succeed and why?

Yesterday, we brought you the story of a turnaround school in rural Georgia. Today, we take you to East Tennessee, where reporter Christine Jessel has the story of one Knoxville school that climbed from the state’s failing list to a Top Ten List in just three years. But it didn’t happen without a lot of pain.

The Southern Education Desk is looking for more Turnaround Schools. Have you or anyone you know been a part of turning a school around? We’d love to hear from you.

~ Christine Jessel