Test scores, student enrollment, public participation and private donations to the schools all increased during his tenure. His book, "Victory in Our Schools: We CAN Give Our Children Excellent Public Education," is still very popular.

As early as 1996, Stanford proposed to make principals CEOs and got businesses to donate funds to create a leadership institute to make them successful at it. Also in 1966, he got approval to link school spending with the kind of students at each school — students with educational challenges, such as those just learning English, bring extra money to their schools.

How was John Stanford able to bring about his reforms? The answer is, first, that he was an effective leader and, second, that people supported his reforms enthusiastically.

Leadership is the key, and Hawai'i has a superintendent who proposes to carry out the reforms the school system badly needs. The CARE Committee plan to break up Hawai'i's unified system would, of course, do away with statewide leadership and replace it with the uncertainty of inexperienced multiple boards without a statewide support system.

Yet our needs for reform are statewide, and the mandate of No Child Left Behind presses Hawai'i to improve the schools swiftly. This will certainly be better done through focused and dedicated leadership, such as Stanford brought to Seattle.

This is not a time for power plays or politics. We need improvement and should press our superintendent of schools to carry it out with support from all factions of government. We need to energize, not destroy the school system. We need to hold it accountable for boosting student performance, raising standards for graduation as well as establishing innovative and effective programs to promote reading in the elementary schools.

Together, the job can be accomplished.