"In a comeback worthy of Muhammad Ali and George Foreman’s legendary "Rumble in the Jungle," Lovejoy [Elementary School] students posted shocking overall gains on last spring’s round of No Child Left Behind standardized tests.

"The improvements are all the more impressive considering that they came among the school’s notoriously difficult to reach low-income and minority students.

"Observers say the bumped-up scores are testaments to the hard work of the students, teachers and parents.

"But perhaps more important, the development is a step toward debunking the popular notion that boosting the academic achievement of children of poverty is a near impossible task."

"But the culture at the school has clearly taken a change for the better, observers say, and the future looks bright.

"[Principal Debbie] Sheary said she believes momentum at Lovejoy is building and that the school has a solid shot at keeping up with the ever-rising testing benchmarks.

"‘I’m a firm believer that success builds success,’ Sheary said. ‘So yeah, I feel like we are going to be in there.’"