All Systems Go: The Change Imperative for Whole System Reform »

Michael Fullanis professor emeritus at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto, and is special adviser on education to Dalton McGuinty, the premier of Ontario. He holds honorary doctorates from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland and from Nipissing University in Canada.

Fullan served as dean of the faculty of education at the University of Toronto from 1988 to 2003, leading two major organizational transformations, including a merger of two large schools of education. He is currently working as adviser and consultant on several major education reform initiatives around the world.

He bases his work on research and practice on both the public and private sectors, finding an increasing convergence in this literature. He has written several bestsellers on leadership and change that have been translated into several languages. Four of his books have won book of the year awards, and his publications have been translated into several languages. His latest books are The Six Secrets of Change and Motion Leadership.

A powerful approach to sustainable school system change that involves all stakeholders!

Changing whole education systems for the better, as measured by student achievement, requires coordinated leadership at the school, community, district, and government levels. Based on Michael Fullan's work with school districts and large systems in the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada, this resource lays out a comprehensive action plan for achieving whole system reform.

System-wide reform becomes possible when educational leaders build collective capacity and where individual teachers, schools, and districts are committed to working together to increase their effectiveness, rather than competing against one another. This book examines:

• Successful reform initiatives in the United States and abroad
• Actions and conditions that have ensured traction and sustainability
• Ways to avoid common errors in action, funding, and policy
• New reforms at the national level that can impact learning right now

All Systems Go shows educators what must be done to strip away distractions and move an entire system forward.

Foreword Peter Senge vii

Preface xiii

Acknowledgments xvii

About the Author xxi

Part I The System 1

1 The Idea and Importance of Whole-System Reform 3

2 Deceptive Inadequacies 19

Part II Getting There 33

3 Collective Capacity at the School and District Level 35

4 The State We Are In 61

5 Individual Capacity Building 81

Part III A New Era 93

6 Politicians and Professionals Unite 95

References 103

Index 107