6This book tells the story of the 180-degree turnaround I needed in life, which prepared me for those 180 days at Shabazz. This book provides explicit strategies on how my team and I transformed the school. Everything you will read in this book comes from my obsession with learning and doing anything I could to ensure that our youth have the opportunity to receive a high-quality education despite the chaos and adversity they faced in their daily lives. With the knowledge contained in these pages, coupled with a "By any means necessary" mindset, anyone can be the transformational leader they aspire to be. Take a journey with me as I revisit my first school year as a high school principal. 1. Review documents I created and used to turnaround the school. 2. Learn how to structure a building for students and staff members to function efficiently. 3. Understand how to create and implement a professional development plan that guarantees success. 4. Discover the power of decision-making. 5. Recognize and choose the data that matters and guarantees student success. 6. Learn the secret to changing a school's culture. School districts are looking for transformational leaders, not leaders who have transferred from one school to the next. All children deserve to experience a school where the culture is stronger than any social group outside its walls. Between my determination to ensure student success and the fact that my team and I accomplished something as significant as the Shabazz turnaround, I felt it was important to share the things that worked, with any educator interested. There is no excuse for poor instruction