Students with learning disabilities inspired in honors classroom

Language-arts teacher Amy Wood, left, with sixth-graders Laura Benner and Dalton Martin, collaborates with colleagues to integrate lessons from multiple subjects. (By Richard A. Lipski -- The Washington Post)

Average students, children with learning disabilities and those in honors classes are working side by side in three Loudoun County, Va., middle school interdisciplinary classrooms that encourage the children to challenge themselves in meeting honors-level requirements. "They bring themselves up to these new expectations, rather than someone dumbing down all the work for them," sixth-grade teacher Inez Lemmert said. The Washington Post