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

by John Stanford

Book Overview

Education is not just a matter for the politicians and professionals; it is a matter for all of us. For we are the public in public education. When we work together, we can do it...we can reach and... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0553379747
• ISBN13: 9780553379747
• Release Date: August 1999
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.0" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

Required Reading for All School Administrators & Parents

This book should be in every school library in the world (in translation, where necessary). Stanford tells us how to make public schools really work. I was at first a bit put out by his advocacy of "running schools like a business," having all too often heard that phrase as an excuse for placing cost reduction above all other goals. But Stanford clearly recognizes and strongly emphasizes that the correct BOTTOM LINE for a school is STUDENT ACADEMIC ACHIEVMENT! The proper test of a proposed expenditure is its anticipated effect on SAA (Student Academic Achievment) per dollar spent. Projects should be prioritized by decreasing improvement in SAA per dollar. The most important qualification for a school administrator is not knowledge of teaching, but ability to be an effective LEADER. The successful school administrator must have the LEADERSHIP to get several constituencies enthusiastically involved in achieving a high level of SAA. These constituencies include not only teachers, school staff, and students; but also other government entities, parents, businesses, the media, and the general public. The leader should practice management by support rather than management by intimidation. The intimidated will concentrate on keeping a low profile and covering their backsides. The leader can benefit little from such people, because no leader can provide all the needed creativity. (S)he must encourage and reward constructive suggestions from teachers, staff, students, parents, businesses, other government entities, and the general public. In the three years before he lost his battle with leukemia, Stanford caused an enormous improvement in the Seattle Public Schools. His methods and practices could be employed in any school system, with great benefit not only to the students, but also to teachers, staff, businesses, and the public. But also read Radical Equations: Civil Rights from Mississippi to the Algebra Project, by Robert P. Moses. Moses' book complements Stanford's. If you are a parent of school-age children, or expect to be, and you want the best possible education for your children, you need the Algebra Project, which was started by Robert Moses, and is described in his book. Both books should be required reading for every school administrator and everyone involved in the selection of a school administrator. watziznaym@gmail.com

Required Reading

I found Stanford's book to be a blueprint for educational reform. He was not merely a theorist; he was an activist who took his vision from the black board to the the hearts and minds of the students. He didn't propose, he purposed. Read this book...you need to read this book if you are unclear about the means, if you need to know HOW to enact change in the bureaucratic jungle of miasmic, lackluster schools.What I enjoyed reading about was how he emphasized having a heart for the students, caring for them with compassion and keeping their interests at the center of all educational activities. Next, I found that he wrote persuasively about running schools more like businesses than the anachronistic centers of regurgitation. Finally, I was energized by his results; although he only had three years in Seattle schools to enact many of his plans before his hard passing, the momentum has started.This needs to be on the book shelves of administrative offices of schools across the country, but it needs to be read by anyone concerned about how to engage our students for higher achievement in learning, now.

An optimistic reformer...

Stanford's book is an easy read about reforming public education. He is no fan of charters or vouchers, which he thinks draws money away from public education. He also believes that increases in funding must be tied to student and system performance and not granted because the public "ought" to support educational levies.This former director the the US Military Logistic Command knows how to marshal resources and arguments for reform. His strongest point is his systems perspective--that is, all the systems of the schools must be aimed at one fundamental objective. His was to develope a "world class student-focused learning system by 1999." He tied this statement to every plan made within a complex 47,000-student system. He does not provide the testing data to substantiate his plans, but he gives great examples of an achievment-oriented system development.

Teachers, Principals, and Parents need to read this!

I just graduated with a Elem. Ed degree and live in the Seattle area so I knew of Mr. Stanford before his passing. All new teachers and anyone involved with schools should read this book. Mr. Stanford details out how schools need to communicate within their walls (strategies on curricula, etc) and out in the community. He has suggestions directed at teachers, principals, parents, and businesses and how they can impact and contribute to the schools. We lost a great leader but can continue his fight for the kids!

Of national interest to educators and community leaders

I have not yet read this book, which has just come out. It was excerpted in last Sunday's Seattle newspaper, and the excerpt was both inspiring and exciting. It is extraordinary that this book was published posthumously. It is extraordinary that General Stanford admits that he flunked 6th grade, and had his teacher not had the courage and love to fail him, he would not have ultimately succeeded. Courage and love are the motifs of his writing