This article examines the current context, challenges, and issues for school leaders and their development in the United States. Current debates about who should lead, what capacities they should have, and how they are best prepared to lead are reviewed. Using several recent studies of the principalship and learning-centered leadership, the author discusses an array of leadership capacities for leading in a high-accountability environment. The article concludes with a brief mete-analysis and suggests an array of capacities for school leaders and a means of acquiring them in the future.