Book Review                                Page 70  

Journey to a High-Achieving School: Eliminate Destructive Excuses

by Fred J. Abbate, Ken Biddle and Joseph M. Tomaselli, Rowman & Littlefield, Lanham, Md., 2013, 136 pp. with index, $50 hardcover

“How important is the education of our children?” ask the authors of Journey to a High-Achieving School.

Although no one denies the importance of education, many offer excuses that become obstacles to achieving the highest quality education for our students.

At the Academy for Educational Leaders, founded by the book’s three authors, strong, authentic leadership is considered the key to high achievement in education. The book examines seven common obstacles posed by educators and encourages the reader to examine the root cause of each obstacle. Only at their root can the journey to overcoming these barriers begin.

Within their “plan-do-check-act” model, the authors provide steps to encourage school leadership to apply the techniques of system thinking, while remembering that educational reform is not a quick fix, but requires hard work, constant renewal and maintenance.

Reviewed by Jill Janes, retired superintendent, Hannibal, Mo.