Mary E. Streshly is a Northern California educational consultant who works with the San Bruno Park School District in coaching new and existing administrators. The daughter of the late Dr. William A. Streshly, Mary E. Streshly had a father who was also a school administrator and prolific author. Among the books he worked on as co-editor was “From Good Schools to Great Schools: What Their Principals Do Well.”

As described in the forward, the genesis of the work was a research study conducted through San Diego State University’s (SDSU) Educational Leadership Department. The editors extensively interviewed 11 school principals, whose “candor and thoughtfulness” provided much of the material of the finished book.

An example of this candor comes in chapter one, with school superintendents and directors of instruction gathering at SDSU and discussing ways of maximizing student learning. As one “weary-eyed professor” notes, copious research points to the importance of school leaders and teachers coming together with a collaborative mindset and working to align elements such as lesson study, data analysis, and curriculum. At this point a younger superintendent poses a question - “If we know what needs to be done to get good results, why can’t we do it?”

This gap between knowing what is needed, and generating actual results through doing, has been described as one of the “great mysteries in organizational management.” By taking the reader methodically through components such as inadequate teacher preparation, changing student demographics, insufficient financial resources, and bureaucratic requirements, as well as districts that have broken through these barriers, the book provides answers to this fundamental question.