District leaders need not direct educational policy and progress from a distance. District Leadership That Works: Striking the Right Balance explores the research that proves district leadership does have an impact on student achievement in the classroom. When leaders strike the right balance between establishing overarching goals and supporting building-level autonomy on how to meet those goals, student achievement flourishes. The authors show how to strengthen and support the educational process through dynamic collaboration-with schools, teachers, boards, unions, and community members-that ensures every student's success.

Readers gain insight into how to:

Initiate second-order change to promote student achievement

Set district-defined nonnegotiable goals for achievement and instruction at the district and school levels through a collaborative process with stakeholders

Create defined autonomy that allows teachers creative freedom while ensuring learning

Monitor goal progress through formative assessment

Shift from past educational paradigms and respond to resistance to change