AUTHOR . SPEAKER . EDUCATION LEADER
Transforming Urban Schools Through Visionary Leadership
Dr. Mit Foley provides the strategic framework for school districts to move from systemic challenges to measurable victory.
The Framework
A proven approach to educational excellence.
VISION
Leadership begins with a story — not a strategic plan. The framework starts with helping leaders articulate a vision rooted in community context, connected to real student experiences, and compelling enough to rebuild trust where trust has eroded. This is not the vision you post in the lobby — it is the vision that changes what people believe is possible.
STRATEGY
Strategy in urban schools is not a binder on a shelf. It is a daily set of decisions about where to direct urgency, how to form coalitions in hard circumstances, and how to use data without losing your humanity. This phase covers the disciplines that make transformation stick: urgency, coalition, small wins, equity, data, and restorative systems.
VICTORY
Victory is not a test score — it is a school that is still improving after you leave. The final phase builds the institutional capacity and leadership pipeline that makes transformation sustainable. Strategic focus. Less is more. Systems over programs. Outcomes that outlast any one person.
R O U T L E D G E, 2 0 2 6
Transforming Urban Schools for Educational Excellence
Drawing on decades of leadership experience and rigorous research, Dr. Foley presents a comprehensive blueprint for turning around underperforming urban school districts.
Leaders Speak
"Urban schools face unique challenges, but they also hold extraordinary potential. Transformation requires courage and creativity — and an unwavering commitment to ensuring all children access quality education that opens pathways to their highest aspirations."
"I have worked in schools that seemed designed for student and teacher failure. I have also witnessed remarkable transformations when leadership implemented high expectations with appropriate support systems. The difference was never resources first. It was vision first."
"Without equity as the priority in every decision, those decisions lack a moral foundation. This is not a book about quick fixes. It is a roadmap for leaders who understand that sustainable change requires courage — and that the students in our most challenged schools cannot afford for us to get it wrong."
Dynamic keynotes and workshops for superintendents, school boards, and education conferences nationwide.