Hands-On Learning

By David J. Hoff

Washington

It's 5 p.m. at the U.S. Department of Education. Just a few headquarters employees are lingering in the agency's long, drab corridors. But on the top floor of the six-story building, in a small conference room, school is in session."Hi, Calvin," Mary Beth Blegen says, reaching out to shake the hand of a tall, thin, African-American teenager sauntering into her makeshift classroom. As she makes contact, Blegen trains her blue eyes directly on the student's brown ones. Calvin Howard quietly returns the greeting and finds a seat at the conference table.

It's a ritual for Blegen to welcome students individually. Today she considers the greeting especially important because Calvin and his classmates are...