Despite constraints on federal resources and authority in education policy, the federal government has a pivotal role to play in identifying a compelling, high-impact focal point that aligns policy priorities at the federal, state, and local levels. The federal government could play a critical role in expanding students' access to excellent teaching. Federal policies could also help transform teaching into a profession that attracts and keeps even more talented people and provides rich opportunities for on-the-job development and sustainably paid advancement for all teachers. This report presents the following four principal levers that the federal government can employ to focus the nation on dramatically increasing student access to excellent teaching: (1) Structure competitive grants to induce districts and states to shift to transformative school designs that reach more students with excellent teachers and the teams that these teachers lead; (2) Reorient existing formula grants to encourage transition to new classroom models that extend the reach of great teachers, both directly and through leading teaching teams; (3) Create a focal point for federal research and development efforts; and (4) Create and enforce a new civil right to excellent teachers. This report outlines an initial set of ideas that, taken in whole or in part, could position federal policy and programs to better assist state and local education agencies that put excellent teachers in charge of student learning by implementing transformative school models and accelerating the development of the tools necessary to support them. [The Public Impact team members who contributed to this report are Christen Holly, Gillian Locke, Bryan C. Hassel, and Emily Ayscue Hassel. ]