Making Schools Work: A Revolutionary Plan to Get Your Children the Education They Need

Anyone who complains about public schools should read this book. It is going to be VERY important to the national dialog about how we pull up our socks and get busy making things better. I know you are busy, so I encourage you to do a good old college-style "gut the book" exercise on this one. It reads well and is only as long as it needs to be (262 uncrowded pages). Speed-devour 100 pages a night and you can get the essence in 2 stints. I've been voraciously consuming education reform literature, and this one is by far the best of the lot. It gives me a considerable sense of hope that Governor Schwartzenegger has read it and reportedly gave it to some people as a Christmas present. I suspect that this will be a book that many, many people read and talk about.Prof. Ouchi worked with a team of researchers to analyze the organizations of hundreds of schools and districts, documenting trends in function and dysfunction and examples of turnarounds. He took the findings and synthesized them into seven "keys." He does a great, sensitive job of explaining how none of these alone is the magic answer -- rather, progress is made by working on all seven together. One of the super things about this book: it is very grounded in the reality that education is about people. He speaks to the reader as a potential reformer, and never gets highfalutin or pessimistic. He reminds the reader often that the people involved almost never WANT bad things to happen. Things just seem to work out that way when the organization is busted. The "Keys" are:1) Every Principal is an Entrepreneur2) Every School Controls its Own Budget3) Everyone is Accountable for Student Performance and for Budgets4) Everyone Delegates Authority to Those Below5) There Is a Burning Focus on Student Achievement6) Every School Is a Community of Learners7) Families Have Real Choices Among a Variety of Unique SchoolsAnother great thing about the book: it prepares you to get involved constructively in making YOUR school or district better. This is not just an academic exercise -- it's a plan for bringing better results.

An easy must read for all!This book is a must read. As a parent activist and public school teacher, this book is a great handbook to revolution in the schools. An easy read, he highlights good things going on and tells you how to evaluate your school in simple words. He also grants permission to everyone and anyone to question the current system, and then take action to decentralize it. It is a practical handbook to empower the public and creat revolutionary change in public education. READ IT AND PASS IT ALONG TO YOUR LOCAL SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS TOO!

This book explains how the organization of a school system can affect student performance. It is filled with stories and data that are interesting, uplifting and compelling. I especially like Professor Ouchi's response to the question, "What makes a school great?" His Seven Keys to Success are "right on," in my opinion. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in understanding why some schools and school systems work while others do not.

This is a book that I fervently hope will start a revolution in America's schools. It's message, one that calls for leadership by empowered principals rather than a conformist bureaucracy, is based on impeccable research and is delivered with fluid, engaging prose. I recommend it to anyone who cares about our children and their future.

William Ouchi does a terrific job of outlining the basic problems in the public school system today. From there he offers valuable insight into many solutions that can be applied to our ailing public school system. It's painfully clear that we must do more in order to fix our educational system.Thie book is a terrific read from start to finish, and I highly recommend it!