Leaders in a handful of school districts are pondering the idea of "front-loading" teacher compensation by paying novices more than they would typically earn under traditional salary schedules. Boosting new teachers' salaries, officials in Denver, the District of Columbia, and New York City contend, would increase the applicant pool and help school systems recruit higher-caliber talent. They believed that coupled with other changes designed to improve teacher effectiveness, the practice also could help reduce costly attrition rates among rookies. The approach taps into a movement by districts and their administrators to align "human capital" elements in the profession--teacher recruitment, compensation, evaluation, and administrative supports--strategically with goals for raising student achievement.