There are essentially two overlapping approaches to describe the state of the art of school leadership training and development in the US. The first approach is what I call recorded history. It is a factual documentation of milestone events, governance changes as well as the passage of landmark laws and policies. The second approach, hidden histories, emphasises political contingencies, contextual differences, and the many contradictions in meaning and actions that seem to surround events, structures, and policies. This article describes the tensions between these two approaches and then highlights how US cultural history, policy levers, and exemplary leadership research and pedagogies contribute to the current and future state of affairs in school leadership preparation, training, and development in the US. (Contains 1 figure and 6 notes.)