Thinking and acting strategically about human capital development and management is the lifeblood of most high-performing businesses and organizations. Public education in this nation should be no different. Principals' and teachers' performance has more effect on student achievement than any other factor and their effectiveness in increasing student performance varies widely. Given the stakes, it is imperative to act on that knowledge and strengthen the education workforce to better serve students. Yet, few urban school districts have acted on this knowledge to make strengthening human capital a centerpiece of their improvement strategies. To build knowledge and momentum for new approaches to strengthening human capital in education, the Aspen Institute Program on Education and Society has launched a multi-year effort to examine what a systematic human capital system in education might look like building on best practices in education and business both here and abroad. In fall 2006, the Aspen Program on Education convened a seminar of leading policymakers, researchers and practitioners from eight nations to bring international lessons to U.S. policy conversations. Surveying the international landscape, the participants were struck by Singapore--a city-state with both high student achievement and a coherent, performance-oriented, professionalized approach to teacher development. While culture and context matter and the Singaporean system could not be replicated in the U.S., this report on Singapore provides provocative ideas for how school districts and states might move toward a more systematic career and compensation structure. Appended are: (1) Singapore and Its Education System; and (2) Description of the Singapore Performance Management Process. [This paper was written with Edmund Lim. It was prepared for the Aspen Institute Education and Society Program.]