Breaking Through: Transforming Urban School Districts.

BREAKING THROUGH: Transforming Urban School Districts. John Simmons (Ed.). New York: Teachers College Press, 2006. 250 pp. Paperback, $36.95. This book details the "how to's" for urban school districts seeking to improve their students' academic achievement. Linda Darling-Hammond, Michael Fullen, and 15 other reputable authors contributed to this book. The authors share anecdotes describing systemic, district-level change in 12 chapters, with three subsections titled "No excuses," "No time to waste," and "Leading change." Initially, the authors note the possibility for change and outline various strategies that yielded positive results. In the second portion of the book, the authors give recipe-style strategies to accelerate the process of change. The last section of the book illustrates practical steps for implementing change.

Simmons, the editor, is committed to reform methods that deepen systemic understandings of learning communities. He has worked in the education field for 30 years and has authored several books on education, organization, and economic development. His current work breaks new ground. It offers large school systems the hope for success if they follow practical principles, strategies, and processes for creating large-scale transformation. Woven throughout the book are the thoughts of notable education scholars, who offer their testimonies as lessons and guidance for the reform process.

The book succeeds on several levels. Its step-by-step approach to improving systemic, district-level change for urban cities would prove valuable to education leaders of large school districts everywhere. Reviewed by Michael Haggood, Principal, Normandie Avenue and 36th Street Early Education Centers, Los Angeles, California.