The educational challenge of the 21st century is to achieve higher levels of learning for all children. This theme has become the overarching issue on the nation's domestic policy agenda as evidenced by the bi-partisan passage of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). The policy levers engaged to address this challenge include increased accountability through state developed testing systems, increased competition through parental choice, and increased investment in improving teacher quality. There remains, however, another important policy lever that has been overlooked: investment in school leadership quality and stability. The purpose of this policy brief is to inform policymakers at all levels about how leadership quality can help individuals rise to meet the educational challenges of the 21st century. As policy makers work to support the improvement of student learning, they should be cognizant of how quality leadership impacts learning in schools and the possibilities for further strengthening school leadership and the preparation of school leaders. This policy brief provides information about three important questions: (1) What do individuals know about the relationship between effective leadership, teacher quality, and student learning?; (2) What do they know about how to prepare quality leaders?; and (3) What do they need to do to ensure further improvements in leadership preparation? The answers to these questions will help individuals leverage the impact of quality leadership to improve schools for all children. The authors conclude this brief with some policy recommendations in the aforementioned three areas.