The Five Essentials of Organizational Excellence : Maximizing Schoolwide Student Achievement and Performance

Rating:
Summary: Tne "Five Essentials," a Definitive Guideline for Success
Review: Finally, a book that clearly combines sound theory into a practical delineation of what it takes to produce high student performance. Marazza moves from the merits of collaboration to chaos theory in order to provide definitive guidelines for administrators, teachers, and parents that are understandable and easily put into practice.

The "Five Essentials" avoids the bandwagon approach to prescribing change. Rather, Marazza successfully teaches how benchmarking, collaborating, planning strategically, governing by standatds, and engaging the stakeholders are not only simultaneously necessary for organizational excellence: but, by their nature, must be integrated. He provides excellent illustrations and constructive exercises that facilitate implementing the "Five Essentials."

Innovation and communication drive a successful school transformation. When adults collaborate, they become invested in the success of the outcome. Marazza has truly captured the spirit of transformation needed in schools today.