The editorial "Mr. Alonso's contract" (July 15) is good as far as it goes, but it doesn't go quite far enough.

My perspective extends beyond my term (since expired) on the Baltimore City school board at the time Andres Alonso was hired. For the research on my book published this year, "It's the Classroom, Stupid," I surveyed urban school reform nationally, and several points seem clear.

One, no comparable urban school system in the country has attained as much steady progress in student academic achievement as Baltimore's has. And two, Mr. Alonso -- in his bold, smart leadership -- is probably the most able public school system CEO in America. There's a long way still to go, as Mr. Alonso is the first to say, but we are extraordinarily lucky to have him at the helm.

Kalman R. Hettleman, Baltimore