This book is about a journey with the Center for Strategic Alliances in Education for School and District Improvement with stakeholders in a school targeted for school improvement. The first chapter puts into context the notion of school, its purpose and the incumbent variables of values, attitudes, organizational and leadership behaviors and instructional practices. Throughout the book, the authors look at three contextual boundaries: (1) historical, (2) the lens of former students and their perceptions of the presence or absence of those variables and (3) a comparison of labeled schools and the views and perceptions of stakeholders with regard to quality, equity and adequacy. This is a compelling journey which utilizes quantitative and qualitative data to take a critical look at the processes involved and the strategies used in America's journey in the quest for excellence. The authors' story is one of the pursuits of innovation, reinvention, equity, excellence and culturally relevant education experiences that inspire and reframe the discussion about "getting to excellence". The book is replete with illustrations of weaknesses hidden in abstract policies, institutional persistence, and culturally void programs, methodologies and practices. It advocates a methodology for arriving at well-conceived processes for achieving acceptance and academic excellence through collaboration among those to whom education is important - the children and the communities where they live.
