Recent state legislation in Michigan mandates that all graduating seniors successfully pass algebra I and II. Numerous initiatives have been enacted to help mathematics teachers meet this challenge, yet school principals have had little preparation for the necessary curricular and instructional changes. To address this unmet need, university-based facilitators designed and tested a series of eight algebra-intensive sessions for secondary principals in six surrounding school districts in south-central Michigan. In recruiting participants, they were especially interested in attracting leaders without mathematics backgrounds. Unlike at typical workshops, principals in the study group (with sessions that ranged from two to four hours in length) had opportunities to regularly solve and discuss algebra tasks commonly used in middle school, read and watch video of teachers implementing similar tasks in their classrooms, analyze student work around those tasks, as well as identify and talk about teaching practices that support meaningful student-centered learning in mathematics. Importantly, the principals sustained this level of intensity across five short months, racking up more than 30 hours of quality professional learning. Three key observations stand out. First, principals are now better positioned to observe standards-based algebra instruction. Second, principals are more comfortable talking with teachers about what they saw and what they hope for in algebra classrooms. Finally, the experience of being a learner helped many of the principals to identify with those students who often struggle in the algebra classroom. ["Principals + Algebra (- Fear) = Instructional Leadership" was written with Michael Steele and Beth Herbel-Eisenmann.]