Leverage Leadership is a revolutionary book written by a revolutionary educator. Paul Bambrick-Santoyo enjoys deity-like status at the high-performing NYC schools with which I work. This is for good reason: Bambrick-Santoyo's Northstar schools in Newark, New Jersey are well known as being the gold standard of urban public schools in America today. Visitors to any of the Northstar schools will see 100 percent of students engaged, listening attentively and doing rigorous work. In many schools, you'll see great instruction in isolated pockets; at Northstar, you see warmth, joy, engagement and rigor in every single classroom from k to 12. The results speak for themselves: for instance, Northstar Elementary was named a National Blue Ribbon School in 2010.Leverage Leadership is quite possibly the best book on school leadership I've ever read: a must-read for educators or - indeed - any who care deeply about improving the quality of our schools. I am buying 20 copies for all of our school leaders. It methodically walks readers through seven pillars of school leadership - data-driven instruction, instructional planning, observation and feedback, professional development facilitation, school culture, staff culture and leadership teams. It thoroughly explains what to do, how to do it and why it works.Within its 350 pages, there are dozens of keen insights that I wish I would have learned many years ago. Here are just three of my favorite:* Many school leaders overvalue daily instructional walkthroughs and undervalue the analysis of interim assessments. As Bambrick-Santoyo points out, data-driven instruction allows us to "see" 80 percent of all instruction whereas regular observations only assess 1 percent. (If you don't believe me, check out page 35 for the math)* Many instructional coaches explain their feedback to teachers and then assume that teachers will be able to implement their feedback. Bambrick-Santoyo corrects this misunderstanding; he tells us that "on the spot," supervised practice is the best way to ensure that feedback sticks.* Most of the professional development sessions I've attended or led have been lecture-style, rooted in a Powerpoint presentation and dependent on the charisma of the speaker. Bambrick-Santoyo argues this is not the best way to structure a PD session. In fact, adults learn best when they are invested in core teaching points and that the best way to do so is through an "airtight" activity.There are many, many, many more kernels of wisdom tucked within this gem of a book.More than anything else, Leverage Leadership is practical, a practitioner's guide. You can pick it up today and immediately use it to change your practice. I know because it dramatically changed the way in which I coach teachers and school leaders. There are videos from champion coaches that paint a clear picture of how to give feedback or lead data analysis meetings. There are testimonials from teachers that explain how these practices impacted their work. There are PD resources that allow leaders to turnkey trainings for their staff.Thank you to Paul and his team for providing a guide to improving instructional leadership - and, by extension - all our schools.Chi TschangRegional SuperintendentAchievement First