Many years ago now I remember a phone call with John King, then New York Commissioner of Education, who expressed his concern about Buffalo Public Schools. We discussed the possibility of my organization, the National Center on Time & Learning (NCTL), providing support to some of Buffalo’s persistently low performing schools. I recall that our team felt that the district did not have stable leadership at the time or a strong educational plan for improving the schools. It would be difficult for any outside organization to provide enough support to see a measurable academic impact.