Nationally, teachers, administrators, school board members and other stakeholders are increasingly concerned about the status of student achievement. Lawmakers have often sought "silver bullet" and "quick fix" solutions to the complex problem of improving school performance with little or no impact. Performance is Key "opens the door" to Connecting the Links to Leadership and Excellence by providing the essential elements necessary to reach higher performance levels but is also diagnostic and prescriptive in identifying the disconnections that impede higher performance and provides practical solutions through a framework for improvement along with associated success strategies. Practitioners and aspiring leaders will appreciate not only the rationale for immediate action but the systemic approach to excellence. Dr. Vince Cotter and Dr. Bob Hassler recognize that it is often the subtle nuances of how and what we do that can make a difference between success and failure. Too often reflection is overlooked in its potential to assess the status of an organization and its ability to provide direction to leaders in moving an organization toward higher performance. Poignant and thought provoking questions assist to position a leader's thinking, overview and focus on performance. Performance is Key also recognizes that real sustainable solutions are internally developed in a collaborative manner and that all schools and districts have the capacity to improve performance outcomes. To further assist educational leaders, a framework and an assessment instrument "crosscheck" the operational nature of key elements for success among school and district stakeholders. While common "pitfalls" to higher performance are noted, leaders are provided with a host of practical tools, strategies and recommendations to overcome obstacles, build internal support and to reach higher levels of performance. Performance is Key will demonstrate the importance of utilizing the four essential elements in a coordinated and collaborative manner and how leaders can execute implementation plans which incorporate those elements in a synergistic way that will lead to high performance. In an effort to make improved performance a reality, professional development activities are provided in the form of worksheets and leadership exercises to build a culture of continuous improvement and a belief that each and every school has the internal capacity to reach excellence.

In returning to the classroom, schools are at a crossroads and uniquely positioned to recreate and reinvent themselves. The current issues of equity, social-emotional sensitivity, curriculum reform, civic involvement, public health policy and environmental infrastructure are opportunities to build more responsive schools with students better prepared for the future.

“Igniting School Performance” begins with a simple question. What kind of school do you want for the children in your neighborhood, town, city or county? While the question is a good starting point, other questions such as: Are you willing to make a commitment so that all schools are high performing? How do you define high performing? and How might that goal be accomplished? are equally important. From the outset of this text, there is a focus on involving all stakeholders in the process of improving student achievement and providing an inclusive leadership approach that breaks the internal paralysis or ineptness which contributes to the ongoing status quo of underachievement in far too many schools. Stakeholders such as board members might declare that they are interested in schools that serve their community. Superintendents might focus on schools that create individuals with the desire to be life-long learners. Teachers might indicate that schools are a place where children learn. Parents may simply express that they want the schools to be good. Further qualifying each of these responses may also yield descriptions of schools that are very different from those previously described.

Nationally, teachers, administrators, school board members and other stakeholders are increasingly concerned about the status of student achievement. Lawmakers have often sought "silver bullet" and "quick fix" solutions to the complex problem of improving school performance with little or no impact. Performance is Key "opens the door" to Connecting the Links to Leadership and Excellence by providing the essential elements necessary to reach higher performance levels but is also diagnostic and prescriptive in identifying the disconnections that impede higher performance and provides practical solutions through a framework for improvement along with associated success strategies. Practitioners and aspiring leaders will appreciate not only the rationale for immediate action but the systemic approach to excellence. Dr. Vince Cotter and Dr. Bob Hassler recognize that it is often the subtle nuances of how and what we do that can make a difference between success and failure. Too often reflection is overlooked in its potential to assess the status of an organization and its ability to provide direction to leaders in moving an organization toward higher performance. Poignant and thought provoking questions assist to position a leader's thinking, overview and focus on performance. Performance is Key also recognizes that real sustainable solutions are internally developed in a collaborative manner and that all schools and districts have the capacity to improve performance outcomes. To further assist educational leaders, a framework and an assessment instrument "crosscheck" the operational nature of key elements for success among school and district stakeholders. While common "pitfalls" to higher performance are noted, leaders are provided with a host of practical tools, strategies and recommendations to overcome obstacles, build internal support and to reach higher levels of performance. Performance is Key will demonstrate the importance of utilizing the four essential elements in a coordinated and collaborative manner and how leaders can execute implementation plans which incorporate those elements in a synergistic way that will lead to high performance. In an effort to make improved performance a reality, professional development activities are provided in the form of worksheets and leadership exercises to build a culture of continuous improvement and a belief that each and every school has the internal capacity to reach excellence.

In returning to the classroom, schools are at a crossroads and uniquely positioned to recreate and reinvent themselves. The current issues of equity, social-emotional sensitivity, curriculum reform, civic involvement, public health policy and environmental infrastructure are opportunities to build more responsive schools with students better prepared for the future.

"Igniting School Performance" begins with a simple question. What kind of school do you want for the children in your neighborhood, town, city or county? While the question is a good starting point, other questions such as: Are you willing to make a commitment so that all schools are high performing? How do you define high performing? and How might that goal be accomplished? are equally important. From the outset of this text, there is a focus on involving all stakeholders in the process of improving student achievement and providing an inclusive leadership approach that breaks the internal paralysis or ineptness which contributes to the ongoing status quo of underachievement in far too many schools. Stakeholders such as board members might declare that they are interested in schools that serve their community. Superintendents might focus on schools that create individuals with the desire to be life-long learners. Teachers might indicate that schools are a place where children learn. Parents may simply express that they want the schools to be good. Further qualifying each of these responses may also yield descriptions of schools that are very different from those previously described.