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Book excerpt: This riveting account of Dennis Littky and how his ideas turned around a troubled rural high school---the first school named to the acclaimed Coalition of Essential Schools---gives you a behind-the scenes perspective on how principal leadership can accomplish positive change. Read how Littky's philosophy of personalized learning---one student at a time---quickly achieved dramatic improvements, including a decrease in dropout rates from 20% to 1.5% and record numbers of college-bound graduates. And learn how school improvement ideas that now seem commonplace today---such as high expectations, individualized curriculum, positive learning communities, and a focus on student competencies---had to be carefully nurtured among students, established through collaborative teamwork, and fought for in the community.