Overview

The future of school isn’t just a dream–it’s already happening. What if we could build schools and systems that prepare every student for college, career, and life, not just for a test? It turns out, we can. The future of public education is being built right now in the Anaheim Union High School District, and this book shows you how they did it. This isn’t just another theory; it′s a practical guide—filled with rich narrative and hard evidence— to transforming education from the inside out. Following Anaheim′s journey, you′ll see how a mid-sized, urban district moved beyond standardized testing to create a system that truly serves its students and community. It’s a story of courage, collaboration, and a deep commitment to helping every student thrive in a rapidly changing world. Discover how to: Empower teachers – unyoked from teaching to a test designed in a bygone era— to lead deeper learning innovations from the classroom up. Connect academic learning to real world skills through meaningful community partnerships. Support the whole child by prioritizing student agency and well-being alongside academics. Achieve remarkable results, including higher graduation rates and college and career success. Build cross-sector partnerships to transform teaching and learning and reposition the public good in public education.

Full Product Details

9781071984673

Table of Contents

Reviews

For those who want to understand the vision and the journey toward a whole child education system, this book offers both a comprehensive picture and a vivid roadmap. A must-read for those who want to understand how educational change can connect young people to their community and their futures. -- Linda Darling-Hammond * Stanford, California * Strengthening public education is happening now. The work of AUHSD to create safe and welcoming, relevant and engaging schools where people—kids, educators, community—come first is yielding results. Barnett Berry, Mike Matsuda, and Michael Fullan help us see the what and why, along with how we can help it happen in many more communities. -- Randi Weingarten * Washington, DC * Berry, Matsuda, and Fullan illuminate what’s possible when students, teachers, families, and communities work together around shared values and bold vision. Their focus on real-world learning, student voice, teacher leadership, and systemic collaboration offers inspiration and direction for every district. -- Rebecca Pringle * Washington, DC * The Future of Public Education is breakthrough work. Berry, Matsuda, and Fullan show us how Anaheim Union High School District is moving beyond incremental reform to genuine system transformation—placing students and teachers at the center, building community partnerships, and redefining success for the future. -- David R. Schuler * Alexandria, Virginia * Anaheim Union High School District has built partnerships rooted in trust with the community, that ensures high standards in teaching and learning are available to all students. This book examines AUHSD’s strategy to improve student outcomes over time. For educators and policy makers seeking to bring similar changes, this book is an invaluable resource. -- Pedro Noguera * Los Angeles, California * The Future of Public Education offers a framework for leaders working to align vision, practice, and purpose in public education. It focuses on real-world implementation—how to create space for innovation, support teacher leadership, and engage students in meaningful learning. This book is a guide for those who shifting from fragmented efforts to coherent, student-centered systems. -- Jill Gildea * Fort Collins, Colorado * Berry, Matsuda, and Fullan share a compelling case study of a district taking risks and making progress that has implications for all our collective efforts. While there are many paths to success, common themes scream for our attention and connection to our own work. -- Peter Dillon * Stockbridge, Massachusetts * Readable, rigorous, and refreshingly practical, this book speaks to everyone who cares about the future of public education. It reminds us that real transformation happens only when we learn from one another, and when teachers and students are engaged as co-pilots, shaping the journey ahead. -- Pasi Sahlberg * Albert Park, Victoria, Australia * As the leader of a business-lead collaborative, working to close the talent gap in America, Anaheim Union High School and Michael Matsuda are models of the future. This book is a must read for both educators and business leaders. -- Douglas A. Wilson * Laguna Beach, California * This account of Anaheim Union High School District’s transformational journey is inspiring and groundbreaking. This is a system-changing guidebook for those committed to redefining and advancing successful learning in an AI world for all young people, educators, and partners in public education. -- Anthony Mackay * Washington, DC * Berry, Matsuda, and Fullan remind us that the future of public education depends on cultivating students’ deepest capacities for meaning-making, purpose, and contribution. Drawing on the science of learning and development, including new science on the importance of adolescents’ opportunities for transcendent thinking, they show how schools can create the conditions for young people to thrive— intellectually, emotionally, and socially—by centering belonging, student voice, and real-world relevance. This inspiring account of Anaheim Union High School District’s transformation is a beacon for educators everywhere who are committed to designing learning environments that unlock human potential and prepare students to shape our shared future. -- Mary Helen Immordino-Yang * Los Angeles, California *

Author Information

Barnett Berry is a Senior Research Fellow at the Learning Policy Institute.  He previously served as a high school teacher, a professor of education leadership, and a senior policy leader for a state education agency. In the 1990s, he led the state policy and partnership efforts for the National Commission on Teaching and America′s Future. Building on the Commission’s goal to transform the teaching profession, in 1999, he founded the Center for Teaching Quality (CTQ). For 20 years, he led CTQ, a non-profit,  to advance a bold brand of teacher leadership needed to both improve and transform public education. Two of his books, TEACHING 2030 (2010), Teacherpreneurs: Innovative Teachers Who Lead But Don′t Leave (2013) frame a bold vision for the profession′s future. In 2021, Barnett was honored by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards with the James A. Kelly Award for Advancing Accomplished Teaching. In 2024, he began working with the University of Kanas and its Center for Reimagining Education — supporting teachers and students together in using Artificial Intelligence to reimagine public schools and the teaching profession. Michael Matsuda, the Superintendent of the Anaheim Union High School District since 2014, is known for his district’s approach to innovation, entrepreneurship, and compassion. He has transformed educational opportunities for students through initiatives like reverse engineered career pathways and data-sharing agreements with higher education institutions. Mike has been recognized by Education Week’s National Leaders to Learn From, California State University- Fullerton’s Visionary Education Leadership Award, and University of California-Irvine’s Community Partner of the Year. Mike is also the co-author, alongside David Brazer, Educating for Purposeful Life (2023), which initially uplifted the school district efforts to transform public education. Mike developed the AIME (Anaheim Innovative Mentoring Experience) program, creating mentorships for over 10,000 high school students with over 120 business and non-profit partners. In 2024, he conceptualized the national K-12 AI Summit, drawing leaders from across the country focusing on enhancing human and emotional development through the promise of AI. In 2025, he was honored by ConnectED, a national non-profit focused on bridge efforts to prepare young people for career, college, and life, as one of its Pathway Trailblazer Award recipients. Michael Fullan, Order of Canada, is the former Dean of the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, and Professor Emeritus of the University of Toronto. He is co-leader of the New Pedagogies for Deep Learning global initiative. Michael served as Premier Dalton McGuinty’s Special Policy Adviser in Ontario from 2003-2013. He received the Order of Canada (OC) in December 2012 and holds five honorary doctorates from universities around the world. His ‘interim autobiography,’ Surreal Change, covers his pre-Covid-19 era to 2018. Michael and his colleagues are now working diligently on field-based comprehensive system change in several countries. Under the umbrella of what they call the ‘humanity paradigm’ —equitable-equal deep change that integrates local (school and community), middle (district/regional), and centre (policy) entities. Michael’s latest books are: Spirit Work and the Science of Collaboration (with Mark Edwards, 2022), The Principal 2.0 (2023), The Drivers (with Joanne Quinn, 2023), and The New Meaning of Educational Change, 6th Edition (2025). For more information on books, articles, videos, podcasts please go to: www.michaelfullan.ca

Tab Content 6

Countries Available