Beating the Odds  Failure Is Not an Option: How Principals, Teachers, Students and Parents From Ohio’s High-Achieving, High-Poverty Schools Explain Their Success Public Agenda, 2012 Public Agenda’s report suggests that effective school leadership is one of the major drivers of success at high-poverty schools. The report also illuminates concrete practices and qualities of effective leaders. Failure Is Not an Option tells the story of nine high-poverty, high-achieving schools in Ohio. Each has confronted tough issues and beat the odds. While each school has its own story, they all share a common set of attributes and best practices that could be emulated by other public schools. In addition to strong leadership from principals, these schools demonstrate a culture of collaboration and engagement, data-driven instruction, high expectations, and nontraditional