Victory in Our Schools: We Can Give Our Children Excellent Public Education

Retired army general John Stanford arrived in Seattle in the summer of 1995 to lead the school district and fight a war for literacy. "Do you love children? Do they know it?" he asked the city. "Children will not learn from adults who don't love them." To handle responsibilities of world-power citizenship, Stanford said, children must be able to read and think clearly, use technology, understand ecology, and value diversity. Stanford asked, "Is not the preparation of all children for effective participation in the democracy they will inherit the expressed charge of public education?" Though some critics called Stanford naïve, his enthusiasm for the mission of creating "a world-class, student-focused learning system" infected and inspired an entire city. At the time of his death from leukemia in 1998, test scores had risen, violence in the schools had declined to a 10-year low, and the morale of students and teachers was soaring.

Stanford stressed that in order to succeed, a school (or any organization) should operate as a business, establishing high standards of achievement, encouraging competition, and focusing every available resource on the goal at hand. Victory in Our Schools is an excellent starting point for school districts that don't know where to begin to effect change. At the start of each chapter, Stanford asks a multiple-choice question in a sort of pop-quiz format: "What should be the number-one priority of a school district?"; "With limited budgets, which is the best investment a school district can make to facilitate learning?" Each question is answered at the end of its chapter through engrossing anecdotes from the charismatic leader's career. His "Checklists for Change"--dozens of points for improving the schools for teachers, administrators, parents, businesses, the media, arts organizations, and retired people--are especially valuable. Stanford invites readers to take responsibility for all children because the nation's survival depends on it. "Our children belong to all of us; they are our investment in the future.... Let's all love them and lead them." --C. Profilet