There is now a robust body of work highlighting the distinctive challenges encountered by leaders of small schools in their pursuit of school improvement. This work, however, tends to focus on the school as the unit of change and neglects the role of the district. Given that the district constitutes an important social context that can influence what principals know and how they use their knowledge (Mangin, 2007), this paper examines how the education district can provide professional support for principals of small schools located in rural and remote environments. In doing so, the paper first identifies from the literature the salient features of effective education districts in supporting change and improvement in their schools. The paper presents a case study of one district in Western Australia. This district is characterized by its magnitude, diversity of landscapes and remoteness of its hinterland providing rich insights into innovative strategies that can assist principals in making a difference to the performance and vitality of rural/remote schools and the communities they serve. The paper concludes with suggestions for strengthening these strategies with an eye to the new model of supporting schools that is about to be implemented in Western Australia.