The inspiring story of the creation of what is proving to be one of the world’s most innovative financing programs, which has helped thousands of underserved African communities take control of their own futures through sustainable and localized low-fee private schools.

When Irene Pritzker walked into the Agbogbloshie Market in Ghana’s capital city of Accra in 2008, her heart ached.

Inside the market was a small but growing school—Paulina’s Queensland School, run by entrepreneur Paulina Nlando—with between 100 and 150 students. It was in a desperate state of physical disrepair, with dirt floors, poor lighting, and dangerous exposed wiring. But Paulina and thousands of school owners like her were unable to obtain business loans to improve their schools.

Upon returning to the U.S., Irene made herself a promise that she would do everything in her power to give schools like Paulina’s a fighting chance.

Through the creation of the IDP Foundation and its Rising Schools Program, she set out to challenge the top-down model and foreign aid that had been in place for decades and left millions of children underserved and schools financially dependent.

Instead, the program focused on treating low-fee private schools as businesses, giving the owners what they needed—access to sustainable microloans from local financial institutions—and empowering them to grow and deliver life-changing opportunities for their students.

The results were amazing. By 2025, the Rising Schools Program had improved more than 2,300 schools like Queensland and affected the lives of more than 500,000 children while spearheading a movement of sustainable localization that has spread to Kenya and is gaining global traction.

• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0FPHNJ955

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Amplify Publishing

• Author: Irene Pritzker

• Publication date ‏ : ‎ January 27, 2026

• Language ‏ : ‎ English

• Print length ‏ : ‎ 272 pages

• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 979-8891387188

Educational leadership is messy; every decision ripples beyond your office, touching schools, families, and communities in ways you can’t always predict. This book helps school and district leaders develop contextual intelligence: the ability to read their environment, navigate power and politics, and act with courage and clarity.

Across seven chapters, we’ll walk through the big questions that sit at the heart of your daily leadership, including:

• How to navigate the power dynamics that shape district leadership;

• How to read your environment, anticipate challenges, and take action;

• What it looks like to lead amid societal shifts: demographic changes, political polarization, economic pressures, and cultural divides;

• How to activate institutional levers that promote opportunity and access, even when the system resists change; and

• The daily actions you can take now to harness possibility by building trust, modeling inclusive practices, and moving your community forward.

Throughout, the book’s tools, real stories, and reflective questions will inspire you to lead with both head and heart in an uncertain world. You’ll come away with the skills, insights, and habits of mind that will help you stay steady in any storm so your students can thrive.

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Routledge

• Publication date ‏ : ‎ May 6, 2026

• Author: Mary Rice-Boothe

• Edition ‏ : ‎ 1st

• Language ‏ : ‎ English

• Print length ‏ : ‎ 176 pages

• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1032776676

• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1032776675