The improvement of international education in U.S. schools cries out for strong national leadership. The authors, guest editors of this special section, make the case that helping students become globally competent citizens is crucial to the future prosperity and security of the United States, and they discuss strategies for making this happen. Throughout this special section, as in many of the documents used in its preparation, the call for a greater focus on international education (IE) is sounded loudly. The contributors to this section have used the terms international education and international studies to refer to the intentional preparation of American students--prekindergarten through college--to be citizens, workers, and leaders in the interconnected world of the 21st century. This article contains a list of Pioneering Schools that were the inaugural recipients of the Goldman Sachs Foundation Prizes for Excellence in International Education in November 2003. They were selected from a national pool of applicants by a distinguished jury. Chosen for their innovation and effectiveness, these pioneering schools engage teachers and students in learning about other world regions, cultures, and languages. This article also contains a list of websites that offer a variety of resources for international education, including classroom materials, professional development opportunities for educators, and international programs for students. (Contains 9 notes.)