Improvement of education will require looking at schools from the inside and collaboration not only among schools but also among the many other institutions that educate. (JM)

The fates of schools are increasingly intertwined. What leaders do in one school necessarily affects the fortunes of students and teachers in other schools around them. Exemplary or high-profile institutions draw the most outstanding teachers and leaders, draining them away from other schools that, in time, become low-status places in which…