Scratch the surface of a successful school and you will find a web of interactions that is the root of its success. Who is it that envisions, inspires, cajoles, and rallies all the various players in and around a school toward any improvement goal? Often it’s a superintendent, a principal, a professor, a special teacher, or a parent. In a word, it’s a leader. This latest volume in the Harvard Education Letter Spotlight Series brings together 20 recent articles that highlight the ways leadership has made a difference in schools.

Whether the topic is teacher collaboration or parent involvement, special education or closing the achievement gap, these stories illustrate how education leaders—including some of the most renowned thinkers in the field—have sought to effect change by bringing best practices to where students are: right in the classroom.