Intelligent, abrasive, and combative, Baltimore County School Superintendent Stuart Berger is committed to fighting hard for change. Charged with implementing the district's ambitious educational objectives, Berger has pushed for all-day kindergartens, school breakfast programs, an office of family services, improved middle school programs, and a…

Two years into her first superintendency, Detroit Superintendent Deborah McGriff has advanced an ambitious and controversial urban school reform package. The public school choice plan has been expanded, and 21 schools have adopted school-based-management plans despite union opposition. This fall, the district will abolish the general education…