Between 1998, when Alan Bersin became superintendent of the San Diego Unified School District, and 2005, when he left that post, San Diego undertook a sustained and comprehensive effort to reform its public school system. As an early and ambitious instance of the types of reforms that by now have been implemented in city schools across the nation, San Diego has received scattered attention within the scholarly and policy worlds. Yet till now there has been no comprehensive account of Bersin's tenure and the reforms he undertook during those seven stormy years. Tilting at Windmills fills that gap.
Richard Lee Colvin's tenure as the San Diego superintendent resulted in groundbreaking reform. This book follows Colvin's lauded term in office and explores different ways San Diego has displayed a reform model for other school districts to emulate.