No silver bullets for improving achievement for all students exist. However, anyone whose paycheck comes from a school district is ultimately responsible for these students. "Leading From the Middle: Mid-Level District Staff and Instructional Improvement," the first in a series of reports drawn from a larger, qualitative study of district/school interactions, is significant new research that looks at the critical leadership role that mid-level central office staff play in implementing district reforms. While volumes have been written about the important leadership roles of superintendents and their instructional initiatives, this research examines leadership at the intersection between schools and districts. This report suggests that at a time when schools and districts have come under increasing pressure to demonstrate improvements with diminishing resources for public education, mid-level central office staff people represent an important link in the exchanges upon which improvements in teaching and learning so clearly depend. Appendices include: (1) District Demographics 2001-2002; and (2) Research Design and Methodology. (Contains 4 tables and 4 footnotes.) [For the executive summary, see ED494450.]