Research shows that effective leadership is essential in schools. When schools have effective principals they are far more likely to be effective and to positively impact student achievement (Davis, Darling-Hammond, LaPointe & Meyerson, 2005; Firestone & Riehl, 2005; Marzano, Waters & McNulty, 2005). Researchers have identified a set of leadership characteristics, that when present, impact school climate and student learning. Those characteristics are discussed later in this Research Brief. (Contains 8 online resources and 6 print resources.)