The economic and political forces behind recent calls for excellence in education are pointing to necessarily dramatic changes in the nature of the teaching profession. Members of the business community, state political leaders, and teachers are working together--with substantial private and state monies--to implement a radical reform agenda that includes recommendations for (1) counteracting the rising rate of teacher attrition by transforming teaching into a rewarding and attractive career and (2) strengthening the quality of teaching by rebuilding the system of teacher education. Local school boards, which mainly have not been included in reform planning will need to respond with clarity and a constructive spirit to the force of many demands. This response, which could determine the success or failure of valuable reforms, will depend on the willingness and the ability of local educational leaders to (1) modify management and administrative practices and encourage administrators to provide new varieties of leadership; (2) establish and support measures related to raising teacher employment standards; (3) fashion and participate in new collective bargaining strategies with teachers; (4) devise ways for using new state mandates and guidelines to benefit local school programs; and (5) accord teaching a greater professional status. (IW)