10 Reasons to Love Our Country

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Best Twist on Outward Bound
Validus Preparatory Academy, a public high school in New York City's South Bronx, takes a get-up-and-do-it approach to learning—and life. When studying evolution, ninth graders examined cell phones from the past 20 years to see how features have adapted. Outdoor science and social studies classes may have kids testing water in the Bronx River or mapping the history of a nearby park. In an area with soaring rates of asthma and diabetes, students get a gymful of cardio equipment.

Validus, founded in 2005, is an Expeditionary Learning School, affiliated with Outward Bound and funded in part by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. In June, the first class of seniors graduated, with 80 percent expected to receive diplomas and many bound for college. That's a proud accomplishment in a city with a 55 percent graduation rate and a neighborhood among the country's five poorest congressional districts.

The hands-on method is key, but so is school size. With only 432 students, Principal Brady Smith knows everyone. "Crews" of students and advisers meet four times a week. Social worker Andrea Hines is "like our Dr. Phil," says Thaddius Mcfarlan, 15—able to solve any problem.

"This school feels like a family," says Juliris De La Rosa, 18, a 2009 grad who's headed for Lehman College. "The teachers push you to figure out what you want to do in life. They even help you find a summer job." Adds Ahmed Hunt, 19,?"I think they'd probably find a kidney if you needed one."

Pictured above are education all-stars De La Rosa, Smith, Hines, Hunt and Mcfarlan.