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

John Stanford (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 3, 1999

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 teach these children.

Meet John Stanford, the successfully unorthodox superintendent of Seattle public schools and former U.S. Army major general, whose gutsy, no-nonsense educational reforms and inspirational leadership have sparked a revolution in public education. Under his visionary guidance, test scores are improving, violence has declined to a ten-year low, student/teacher morale is soaring, and the community has rallied around the schools as never before.

In this remarkable book, he outlines the essential strategies a school district can use to transform the system and offers a concrete plan of action to mobilize educators, parents, and the community at large into an army of educators.

Learn how your school district can:

Establish standards of achievement for both students and educators
Ensure that the school system believes that all children can learn--and that they act on that belief
Encourage schools to run themselves like businesses, turning principals into enterprising CEOs, promoting high performance through competition, and drawing vital investments from the private sector
Enlist the aid of local businesses, nonprofit, religious, and ethnic organizations, and volunteers in order to meet the needs of every child
Expand the traditional classroom to include the surrounding community

Here is a new, dynamic plan to help you and your community achieve Victory in Our Schools.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

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

From Publishers Weekly

Although he hand no formal training in education, the late John Stanford, a former U.S. Army major general, assumed command of a troubled Seattle public school system and resurrected it. In addition to his legacy of educational achievement, he has left this new book detailing his strategies for rescuing America's schools from the doldrums. Taking a bold, almost corporate approach to lifting test scores and reinforcing teacher accountability and community involvement, Stanford focuses on strengthening schools at the district level, by confronting such traditional obstacles to learning as the promotion of failing pupils, ineffective teachers and administrators; mandatory busing; and the lack of sufficient finances for schools in poor and minority areas. He harshly criticizes bureaucratic policies and traditional teaching methods. For Stanford, community faith that reform is possible is pivotal to any push to transform the schools that is based on measurable goals. His concept of developing strategies for each student based on a complete assessment of his or her educational strengths and weaknesses is an old one, but has rarely been rendered with such passion and commitment. Accountability rates high in the Stanford plan; the former soldier expects teachers and principals to lead by example, and schools to be run like finely tuned businesses, based on performance. Taking a controversial stand, he invites deeper involvement by local businesses and skilled graduates. Optimistic yet forceful, this sensible step-by-step guide deserves careful attention. (Aug.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Bantam (August 3, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553379747
• ISBN-13: 978-0553379747
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.5 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #322,479 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Teachers, Principals, and Parents need to read this!, December 31, 1999

By 

Ally White (Arlington, WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Victory in Our Schools: We Can Give Our Children Excellent Public Education (Paperback)

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!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An optimistic reformer..., June 1, 2000

By 

Stephen Armstrong (Hadley, Ma USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Victory in Our Schools: We Can Give Our Children Excellent Public Education (Paperback)

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.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Of national interest to educators and community leaders, August 9, 1999

By 

K. M. Sajdak "kmeagle music lover" (Hopewell Junction, New York USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Victory in Our Schools: We Can Give Our Children Excellent Public Education (Paperback)

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