In spite of tough financial times, resourceful school leaders devise ways to overcome challenges and improve education. To do this, they make strategic use of the resources they have. And they also cultivate learning communities. In this article, Elizabeth A. City describes how school leaders can make more strategic use of three essential resources: people, time, and money. For example, investments in professional development have more potential to improve teacher performance than investments in increased teacher evaluation--if that professional development is of high quality and is aimed at enhancing teachers' higher-order learning. Effective use of money requires aligning resources to a clear strategy and goals and making tough tradeoffs. But no matter how intentionally and thoughtfully school leaders use resources, real school improvement may not occur, writes City, without changing practices and beliefs. This kind of change requires investing in five crucial areas: vision, hope, trust, ideas, and energy. City describes in detail the importance of hope, and tells about two schools in which large investments of time and money were ineffective until small changes created hope. (Contains 1 endnote.)