This book shows how school improvement efforts are often undermined by the changing conditions around schools, as well as by some of the very policies and programs designed to help them make improvements. Hatch argues that schools cannot wait around for conditions to improve or policymakers to figure out how to provide the 'right' support. Schools need to create the conditions for their own success. To help them accomplish that, the author describes a small set of key practices that schools can use to get resources, manage external demands, and build their capacity to make and sustain improvements over time.