Comparing the nation's populations health problems with high school graduation rates may seem like a stretch, but just as obesity poses a real threat to the nation's future, so does the inability to graduate students who are career and college ready. Reversing the trend of obesity will take time and so will the goal of graduating all students from high school ready to succeed in college. Many of those students who do graduate from high school are still not prepared for college. Dieters are accountable to themselves, but school district leaders are accountable to and dependent on the ongoing support of an ever-changing board. So what about the eager school board members or policymakers who expect a high school turnaround within a short time frame? Such expectations are a challenge because the term of many school board members and policymakers is often shorter than the time needed to change habits to sustain increasing student achievement. To maintain the school board's support, the district leaders should share trend data regularly--at every board meeting--and help the board members understand the nature of school transformation.