When Thomas Jefferson’s principal Crystal Potee learned that TeeJay had become the second accredited comprehensive high school in 里士满公立学校, she started “crying, laughing, praising God,” she says. 那是在7月下旬，她为自己的学生和团队感到骄傲。

However, when assistant principal Christal Jordan found out, she just shook her head and laughed: “I wasn’t surprised.” Her confidence wasn’t based on feelings: she’d seen the data weekly, and knew it was going to happen.

But for a school that was “this close” all year, the results were definitive.

‘We had to encourage our students, let them know, you don’t have to be perfect, but you do have to try.’

TeeJay今年获得了认证，因为它的历史/社会研究熟练度提高了17个百分点，科学SOLs提高了24个百分点。 他们成功的核心是，政府将其归功于围绕数据和努力建立强大文化的努力。 从第一天起，他们就知道认证是他们的目标，团队也在努力培养能让他们走向成功的习惯和心态。

“One of the first things that happened was transparency,” about what was needed, “and with that transparency, you got honesty,” says assistant principal Claude Hataway. “You had people in place that were doers, and we showed you what we would do. We did that every day, we supported our teachers.” 领导团队听取了老师们的意见，努力工作，尽可能快速、持续地解决需求。

Support is a “daily thing” at TeeJay and a hands-on effort across the board. 强大的文化导致教师要求反馈，观察和数据，以增加对学生的支持。 “We have teachers begging us to come in to see them,” says Ms. Jordan. “They know we’re here to support them.”

对教师的支持让学生们勇敢地努力。 “We had to encourage our students, let them know, ‘you don’t have to be perfect, but you do have to try,’” says Principal Potee. TeeJay is a tight-knit community that sometimes feels like an “underdog,” she says, so they first worked hard to make all students believe in the Viking Way to build that pride and confidence. “You can’t forget a Viking, they’re going to come through! This is who you are, when you come here, you’re going to stand, and you’re going to represent TeeJay.” 小的收获会带来更大的收获，这种势头建立了一种强大的、有凝聚力的文化。

“What we do here is contagious,” says Mr. Hattaway. “Our big focus is building that consistency, in the classroom and out of the classroom,” to ensure that students were on track. Under high school principal director Dr. Willie Bell’s leadership, they had monthly data meetings and worked to provide each student exactly with what they needed.

波提说，今年TeeJay会带来更大的成果。 The team’s motto this year is “collective efficacy equals ownership and empowerment” and with that sense of team, they expect to keep soaring higher. “Even though the bar is getting higher” — the state of 维吉尼亚州 will be updating its accreditation formula this year — “we’re going to continue to improve.”

The sky’s the limit on Grace Street.