Creating excellent schools isn't mysterious. Excellent k-12 schools exist, there are many of them, generally at least one in most major cities if not many more. We simply need to copy what those schools do.
The "problem" is what those schools are doing costs more money.
* Smaller classes
* Teachers with more higher degrees (nearly all k-12 educators should have a masters at least 1/3 should have a PhD)
* Sufficient materials
* Extra curricular programs
* Enough admin staff