"Our role is to look at every student as an individual and to help him or her grow. That means not only educating them in the three Rs, but teaching them how to think for themselves, make decisions, solve problems, and be ready for the world." This was new principal Dennis Littky's message to his staff at Thayer High School--the vision that would guide the rural school's journey from run-down district joke to national showplace. The unorthodox methods...