This series explores the history of schools and schooling in the United States and other countries. The series will examine the historical development of schools and educational processes, with special emphasis on issues of educational policy, curriculum and pedagogy, as well as issues relating to race, class, gender, and ethnicity. Special emphasis will be placed on the lessons to be learned from the past for contemporary educational reform and policy. Although the series will publish books related to education in the broadest societal and cultural context, it especially seeks books on the history of specific schools and on the lives of educational leaders and school founders.

The Author: After two successful careers, one in aviation and a second in computer technology, Robert W. Butche set out to examine his roots and the Ohio State University School, which he attended from first grade to graduation in 1954. While earning his B.S.B.A. degree at Ohio State, he developed a mentor relationship with legendary football coach Woody Hayes – a powerful advocate of academic achievement and «paying forward» in life. One way Butche chose to pay forward was by founding the Rotunda Foundation to collect, preserve, and write about the rich history of the University School in cooperation with the OSU Archives. A lifelong writer and publisher of technical materials, Butche personally knew most of the legendary educators and political figures discussed in Image of Excellence. Today, he serves in executive capacities in both private and public companies in the fields of digital video, computer systems, and internet structure and deployment.

«Robert W. Butche gives us a very special gift as he resurrects the memory and reestablishes the significance of this remarkable school...Butche’s account, a brilliant display of local school research, depicts the trappings and difficulties of this exemplary school as its faculty and students found themselves, quite regularly, in conflict with university administration, college faculty, local school leaders and teachers, and the general community. The demise of the OSU Lab School, thrillingly portrayed from recently discovered documents, infuriates while it instructs how outstanding educational programs can be undermined in ways that one assumes are used only by the worst of politicians. ‚Image of Excellence‘ offers a thoughtful and insightful view of educational change – one quite timely for instructional leaders as the possibilities of charter schools and school choice are currently debated. Educational historians, policy makers, administrators, and teachers will become entranced by the story of the challenges, successes, and disappointments of one of the most innovative and experimental schools in the history of American education.» (Craig Kridel, Curator, Museum of Education, University of South Carolina)