The battle to improve the US School System must be fought and won at the district and school level argues Francis Duffy. In this excellent book Duffy and the thought leaders he has assembled argue that local leaders have to lead system wide change and for that ethical, value driven change is needed. This book will provide important insights for those leaders in our school systems who want to make a difference. -- Michael Beer, Cahners-Rabb Professor of Business Administration, Emeritus, Harvard Business School This book honors the complexity of transforming a school system. It offers many insights on how this can occur and is valuable in viewing change as both personal and systemic. It is a comprehensive and at times profound look at leadership and provides in one place all you need to know about creating institutions that truly fulfill their purpose. -- Peter Block, author of The Answer to How is Yes, Flawless Consulting, and Stewardship Frank Duffy's latest book promises to be an important contribution to the literature of change leadership in education. -- Tony Wagner, co-director, Change Leadership Group, Harvard University Graduate School of Education Good leaders must do two things-decide what to do and then get support for whatever changes are required by such decisions. Duffy's latest book helps would-be change leaders on both scores. For those who only tweak the system they lead, in this book they will find a rationale for broader, multiple (systemic) changes that interact together to improve overall system performance. The book also clarifies the complexities of change that require broad support, or 'buy-in,' from members of the organization. -- Gordon Cawelti, senior research associate, Educational Research Service, Arlington, Virginia and former executive director of ASCD Seven essays by noted theorists and practitioners examine issues such as resistance, teachers' unions, and collaboration with parents and community stakeholders (in whole-system school district changes). The book is of interest to policy makers and future school district leaders. Reference and Research Book News, May 2006 This book is an important contribution on a critical topic; nothing is more important to the success of systemic education reform than strong leadership. -- David Kearns, former chairman and CEO of Xerox Corporation, former U.S. Deputy Secretary of Education Duffy crafts a dialogue that seems uniquely built around the needs of systemwide leadership and the role superintendents play in leading what he calls ecological systemic change. The text is clearly written and well documented by research and theory from the fields of education and business. School Administrator Magazine
