Books don't just appear. Human desires and aspirations are forces that contribute to creating a book. This book resulted from several intersecting forces. First was the desire to bring into being a school-centered, future-focused change model for schools. In this change model, the protagonists are members of the school community—parents, teachers, specialists, children, and administrators. The direction of change is future oriented, with all members contributing to the explanation of who they are as a community, who they want to become, and how they can grow together.

A second force was the desire to reframe “learning” in our schools. Learning has long been the province of children in schools, yet we know that learning is as important to the life of a teacher as it is to the life of a student. If schools are to thrive in the 21st century, everyone in the schoolhouse must be a learner. Learning goes hand in hand with change, yet all too often schools are asked to change without giving staff the opportunity to learn.