HONOR ROLL

Yesterday's front-page article, "Carver Middle School Wins National Honor," told a stirring story. Reporter Juan Antonio Lizama described how a troubled school improved across the board, and earned recognition for academic progress.

Several years ago Carver had discipline problems. Its test scores did not reflect its potential. Principal Don Ashburn and a dedicated faculty and staff went to work. The results included a safer environment and enhanced scores (there is a connection between the two; learning suffers when fear stalks halls).

The National Principals Leadership Institute has named Carver as one of the nation's six schools winning the annual Panasonic National School Change Awards.

Carver is the fourth Chesterfield school to receive the honor in recent years. Clearly, the county is doing something right.