Since about 2000, The Wallace Foundation has supported much research and professional practice to enhance the quality of the nation’s principals. This report draws on insights for that work and the work of  others, focusing on the nexus between local and state venues. It asks: What would a state’s policy environment look like if it were to support local school districts in developing effective approaches to strengthening the principal corps? The report was the first in an occasional Wallace series titled Considerations, in which Wallace invites ​leading scholars to share insights based on research and theory on issues of importance to the fields that the foundation supports.