America is experiencing renewed interest in the important role school administrators play in initiating and sustaining school excellence. The perception of the school principal as a passive, reactive manager has yielded to a more accurate recognition of the administrator as a proactive instructional leader. To obtain relevant information concerning the demographics of practicing Kentucky elementary principals and the role they play in educational quality and reform, a total of 1,122 questionnaires were mailed to both public and private school principals in the state. The initial mailing took place in September 1988, with a followup in October 1988; the usable response rate was 50.8 percent. The most obvious conclusions from an analysis of the data were that Kentucky elementary principals were white, middle-aged men with an average salary approximately 75 percent higher than teachers. The majority had slightly more than 10 years total experience as a principal, but over 60 percent plan to retire within the next 10 years. Most were principals of small schools who worked over 50 hours per week. Further, most were satisfied with the quality of their inservice training and the current state administrative certification requirements. (KM)