Several years ago I visited the former Riverside School, which was and is the site of an alternative middle school program. When I arrived, I was greeted not only by a staff member but by a dog who was allowed to roam free in the halls (the dog had a calming influence). Set among all the very impressive student created artwork on the walls was a factory-style time clock and time cards (students who found arriving on time difficult were aided by the time clock). I recall close to three dozen students spread through a handful of classrooms. The most striking thing was that in every one of the classrooms, the students and teachers were reading and discussing Macbeth. Several of the sessions I witnessed were more intense and compelling than those in many college classrooms. What was going on? This was an alternative school filled with students whose disciplinary issues had caused them to be removed from a regular middle school. Yet they were all deeply engaged in learning some pretty complex material. What I learned from my visit was that all students learn differently and that even those who had great difficulty in the normal classroom environment could thrive academically under the right circumstances. And those circumstances take resources - money - which, as we've discussed in prior blog entries, is a crucial ingredient that the No Child Left Behind Law has left behind.