Barriers to progress in educational reform exist inside and outside the education system. Some arise where new practices encounter traditional expectations and boundaries, but others go much deeper than education, such as poverty, racism, local political conflicts, and human resistance to change. The following five categories of barriers are particularly prevalent and significant among the vanguard schools and districts in this study: (1) lack of clear direction; (2) weak incentives for change; (3) regulatory and compliance mentality; (4) limited learning opportunities for educators; and (5) poor communication. Governors can use their roles as leaders to help overcome these barriers by promoting goals that support high performance and access to resources. Like schools, state education systems cannot be reformed overnight, but progress to date, documented by several case studies, indicates that systems can move forward. The work of vanguard schools, leaders in educational reform, is explored. (Contains 10 references.) (SLD)