Place-based education roots learning in real issues and needs and helps students become both academic achievers and good citizens. This article profiles programs in five states that are fostering academic achievement. The Alaska Rural Systemic Initiative (AKRSI) links Alaska Native culture and indigenous knowledge with the formal educational system and develops specialized curricula to relate basic math and science concepts to the local environment. AKRSI schools using place-based education have shown improved eighth-grade math scores over schools that do not. The Russian Mission School dramatically improved test scores and student attendance and dropout rates after local subsistence activities and Native culture were tied to the curriculum. In Tillamook, Oregon, students worked with the Oregon Department of Forestry to survey the status of logged areas and to create an interpretive walkway featuring animal tracks in concrete. At Guffey Community Charter School (Colorado), students help to gather astronomical data and monitor meteors as part of a Denver museum program. Albion, Nebraska, high school students in an entrepreneurship class raised funds to purchase and renovate an old theater and operate the theater on weekends. In Ojai, California, a Hispanic student-initiated club matches student tutors with students who need help in math, English, or computers. Sidebars outline the principles of place-based education and list related resources, most of them available online. (SV)