It is argued in this discussion that, in order to attain a higher level of excellence in education, American business can and must play a far more important role than simply sponsoring or supporting individual projects on a rather sporadic and ad hoc basis. Ten suggestions are offered concerning ways American business can set the climate for excellence in education. Subsequently, four major programs of the New York Alliance for the Public Schools are described, including (1) efforts to train school principals to be instructional leaders, (2) a law program for high school students, (3) provision of a computerized data bank identifying the areas of specialization of more than 1,700 university faculty and enabling contact between classroom teachers and university professors, and (4) a privately funded public information campaign designed to close the gap between public perceptions of the New York City public schools and the actual levels of achievement in those schools. (RH)