This book contains sixteen compelling case studies that illustrate the power of future search to create lasting, whole system change. Future Search in School District Change: Connection, Community, and Results chronicles ways in which educational institutions have used broad-based stakeholder involvement to improve education. These experiences, by individual authors--many who are school superintendents, directors, and education professionals--will help those tasked with improving education by offering ideas that have proven successful. These cases document innovative initiatives in rural, suburban, and urban schools on such key issues including: (1) District mergers; (2) Healing racial divisions; (3) Curriculum reform; (4) Developing community partnerships; and (5) Creating district-wide strategic plans. This book also contains important educational themes such as: (1) Early childhood education; (2) Improving the performance of school boards; (3) improving student health; and (4) Improving achievement. This book is designed for superintendents, school board members, district administrators, and anyone else with an interest in high-involvement/ high-performing schools and districts. Following the Contributor's Foreword; Preface (Rita Schweitz, Kim Martens); Introduction: Future Search in Education (Marvin Weisbord, Sandra Janoff), this book is divided into five parts. Part 1, Demographic Variety, contains the following chapters: (1) Lawrence Public Schools: Institutionalized Goals (Nancy Aronson, Emily Axelrod, and Sandee Crowther); (2) Influencing Systemwide Change at the Toronto District School Board (Ray Gordezky, Kim Martens, and Sue Rowan). In Part 2, Leadership Perspectives and Tools, the chapters continue: (3) Converting Outsiders to Insiders: A Grassroots Approach Using Future Searches at Each School to Design the Districtwide Educational Strategy (Jim Parry); (4) Supporting the Merger of Two School Boards in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada: The Ottawa-Carleton Community and Public Education to 2015 (Claudia Chowaniec, Ray Gordezky, and Jim Grieve); and (5) Perkiomen Valley School District: Creating a Collaborative Culture (Beverly Arsht, Nancy Aronson, and Sally Hilderbrand). Part 3, Growing Community Partnerships, continues with the next 4 chapters: (6) Activating Social Capital through Community Support and Interagency Cooperation: A Future Search Success Story in Education (Rita Schweitz, Ken Seeley, and James Merritt); (7) Building Community Capacity to Support Quality Education (Nancy Aronson, Emily Axelrod, and Mary Ann Bobosky); (8) Supporting Health and Mental Health So Students Can Learn in San Gabriel, California (Jean Katz and Vera Jashni); and (9) Creating a Community for Healthy Learner in Minneapolis, Minnesota (Catherine M. Perme and Sara E. Stoltzfus Mullett). Part 4, Including Student Voices, provides chapters: (10) Finding the Rainbow in a Coat of Many Colors: A Districtwide Strategic Planning Process (Shelley Sweet, Jean Katz); (11) Confronting Racism in the Novato Unified School District (Kenoli Oleari); and (12) Success and System Readiness: The Lester B. Pearson School Board and Its Commitment to Educational Excellence, Montreal, Quebec, Canada (Pat Deans, Kim Martens, and Ray Gordezky); and Part 5: Beyond the District, contains the final chapters: (13) North Montgomery County Technical Career Center: Opening Up a System and Having Regional Impact (Nancy Aronson, Beverly Arsht, and Michael Erwin); (14) Community Collaboration: A 10-Year Journey for Young Children (Chris Kloth and Rebecca Love); (15) Transforming a School of Education: Building System Coherence (Nancy Aronson, Rosemarie Barbeau, and Karen Symms Gallagher); and (16) Kansas State Department of Education: Hope and a Sense of Possibility in a Time of Scarcity and Despair (Nancy Aronson, Rosemarie Barbeau, and Alexa Posny). Also included are: Epilogue: Engaging the System by Changing Conversations in School districts (Kim Martens, Nancy Aronson, and Rita Schweitz); References; Index; About the Authors; and Contributor Contact Information.