This book's primary focus is to detail the process by which secondary school educators can leverage literacy to improve learning and college and career preparedness. To that end, the latter parts of the book (Parts II and III) will feature a series of well-designed and coherent plans that can aid school leaders in framing their approach to action planning in the name of school improvement. Sample plans for several key initiatives and focuses at the high school level will be presented. The common thread in each of these initiatives and their corresponding action plans will be literacy and how it can be harnessed as the single most powerful tool in driving notable achievement and genuinely preparing students for college and or the workforce.

However, it would be ill-advised for any book on school leadership not to address leadership more holistically. Part I of this book begins with discussing the nuances, complexities, and opportunities encountered by school leaders as they confront the challenges of leading teachers and improving learning outcomes for all students. To understand school improvement, one must first understand those leadership characteristics and factors that transcend leadership in any field, industry, or organization. These characteristics and factors must then be applied in the context of school leadership, thereby ensuring an operational understanding of "instructional leadership." In other words, leaders need to understand how to integrate leadership capacity in a broad context with a keen sense of how to support improved pedagogy anchored in literacy. This book aims to provide that understanding and resources for those interested in improving outcomes for students.

Readers of this book will likely fall into one of two categories; those who are working to develop a clear plan for instructional improvement and those who have already done so but are looking for ways to further improve. Whatever the case, I hope you find the book to be instructive and useful. The ideas and materials presented in this book are simple, practical, and effective.