In K-12 education, it’s difficult to find stakeholders who will declare that poor schools should be closed and ineffective teachers should be fired; that teaching experience is not essential to being a school principal; that schools should be more cost-efficient; or that profit-driven competition might be good for public education. These are the kinds of unconventional ideas that Frederick M. Hess puts forth in his new book, Tough Love for Schools: Essays on Competition, Accountability, and Excellence (AEI Press, January 2006). This volume rejects the notion that loving schools means apologizing for them and argues that “tough love” requires demanding more, not less, of the people and institutions we cherish.

Please join author Frederick Hess as he explores the practical and political challenges of accountability, competition, excellence, and the public good. Joining him in the discussion will be panelists James Donnelly, winner of the 2004 National Principal of the Year award; Jason Kamras, winner of the 2005–2006 National Teacher of the Year award; and Joe Williams, author of Cheating Our Kids: How Politics and Greed Ruin Education (Palgrave MacMillan, 2005).