"All across America, our largest city school districts have been rapidly and dramatically changing. From Chicago to Detroit in the Midwest to Newark and New York in the East, charter schools continue to crop up everywhere while traditional public schools are shuttered. In what remains of public schools, school boards are increasingly bypassed or suspended by state-appointed managers who are often non-local actors and public services are increasingly privatized. This book tells the story of how as early as the 1980s, reform efforts-both state and federal-have essentially transformed Detroit's school system by introducing new education players like Betsy DeVos, who have gradually eclipsed local actors for the control of schools. I argue that Detroit's embittered school wars are fought between two fronts: a dwindling regime of native school leaders and local constituents (i.e., teachers, parents, students, community activists, etc.) against the ascension of new and outside managers. It is a story that captures the greatest school organizational change since the Progressive Era"--