Renewal

Harold Kwalwasser argues that American schools need a fundamental overhaul, and he lays out what that overhaul would require. To find out why some schools have thrived where others struggled, he toured forty districts, charter schools, parochial schools, and private schools that were either performing at a high level or turning themselves around. The book pulls his findings into a single coherent approach that brings the necessary changes together.

His central finding is that schools can succeed even under very difficult conditions, and that their success does not hinge on one miracle fix or on assigning blame to a single villain. Real reform, he contends, is systemic. It depends on sustained patience and a shared commitment from everyone with a stake in education, including parents, taxpayers, school board members, superintendents, teachers, state lawmakers, and members of Congress.

The book contrasts the standardized, assembly-line model of schooling that dominated the twentieth century with a more inventive and adaptable alternative. Its goal is to show how that alternative could prepare every child, not just some, for the demands of the future.