This one-of-a-kind book takes readers beyond thinking about school improvement to leading the process of creating excellent learning environments. Beginning with fundamental principles of whole school leadership, the book demonstrates how action research and published studies can work hand-in-hand to explain the nature of student achievement gaps and the reasons that underlie them. Using examples from education leadership classrooms, research, and practice, the authors bring to life the processes of problem identification and diagnosis, developing solutions, and project implementation and evaluation.