This is an important book by seasoned analysts of education reform. Their grounded, long-term perspective provides insights that gets our thinking out of the weeds and provides clarity about where urban education reform has been and where it is going.       — Jane Hannaway, Director, Education Policy Center, Urban Institute

Learning from L.A. provides a detailed analysis of a system in transition. The authors make a fine distinction between reform ‘projects’ and systemic, institutionalized reform movements—both of which are necessary to propel deep-rooted, dynamic education reform. They identify initiatives that can be the springboard for widespread institutional transformation. This account of a changing school system, with its focus on grassroots politics and processes, will prove particularly useful to both educators and policy-makers. It is a refreshing reminder of the challenges of urban education reform.       — Peter McWalters, Rhode Island Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education

Learning from L.A. is both an outstanding political history of educational reform and a first-class, theoretically sophisticated analysis of how institutions change.       — Mark Blyth, Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, Johns Hopkins University