How educator Gloria Jean Merriex used dance, drills and devotion to turn around a failing elementary school in a year
- Written by Boaz Dvir, Associate Professor of Journalism, Penn State
Movement was an essential part of Gloria Merriex's lessons at Duval Elementary School in Gainesville, Fla.Courtesy of Boaz DvirWhen Duval Elementary – a school that served mostly Black and poor students in East Gainesville, Florida – failed the state’s high-stakes standardized test in 2002, district leaders pressured the...

