Anatomy of a School Crisis

"Anatomy of a School Crisis" by Amy Virshup, in last Friday's NYT, peels back some of the layers of the school crisis so many urban start-ups suffer from. What will happen to Columbia Secondary School with the departure of Jose Maldonado-Rivera? Good schools depend so much on good leadership, but good leaders crash and burn in impossible situations. Will Columbia Secondary ever be a good school? Will the departure of the principal be more a gift or a curse? If the structural obstacles remain unchanged, will any leader be able to bring the school to new heights, or even keep it out of the gutter?