Following a "dear colleagues" letter from John R. McKernan, Jr., Governor of Maine and 1991-92 chairman of the Education Commission of the States, a strategy is outlined that will help educational reformers to approach restructuring from varying perspectives and improve its chances for success. Several fundamental principles underlie successful strategies. They are based on the premises that: all children can learn; fundamental change is needed; no single policy change will transform the system; and the education system must be able to analyze and continually improve itself. Obstacles to reform are identified and the actions that constitute a comprehensive strategy for change are outlined. These include providing for continued leadership, setting a vision of a system that holds high expectations for learning, translating the vision into policy and practice, realigning the state system to support the new vision, and focusing on results. (RR)