The superintendent and the majority of the school board members must share a common vision and work together for an extended period to make for urban school reform possible. Boards of education cannot reform urban school districts, or probably any school districts, without superintendent leadership. Non-traditional superintendents might be the most effective reformers. These would include strong leaders with political and management skills as well as broad experience in areas other than education. Only minority leaders can reform America's urban school districts, with a few rare exceptions.
Urban schools are mostly minority schools.
School district administrators and building principals are the people who develop reform policies, put them into practice, and make them work. The focus on school reform should be on results, not methods. School trustees must not accept low levels of performance from poor children. Partisan politics must stay out of the board of education room. Business leaders play an important role in urban school reform.