Business and industry leaders do not flinch at the idea of placing top talent in struggling departments and divisions. This is not always the case in public education. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools made a bold statement to its community in its strategic plan by identifying two key reform levers--(1) an effective principal leading each school; and (2) an effective teacher in every classroom. This statement was followed with a commitment to place a top principal and the most talented teachers in the district's struggling schools. In 2008, the district developed and launched a strategic staffing initiative. The author discusses five tenets of Charlotte-Mecklenburg's initiative that places the most skilled educators in the district's bottom-performing schools.