This qualitative study was designed to gain an in-depth understanding of the role of the principal in successfully improving English Language Learner (ELL) educational outcomes in high poverty schools based on interviews with five elementary principals who were employed by Hillsboro School District during the SET-R grant from school years 2007-2010. Three questions guided this study. First, how do the principals promote or implement school culture expectations and best instructional practices in elementary schools with high ELL populations? Second, what level of general knowledge about leadership characteristics do the principals possess whose students performed well academically as measured by OAKS in elementary schools with high ELL populations? Third, what do the principals regard as an effective approaches to comprehensively serve ELL populations? The interviews were in a semi-structured format and were designed to allow the participant opportunities to discuss professional experiences. This topic continues to be a concern for administrators given the persistent achievement gap between ELLs and their peers at the secondary level despite some gains in the primary grade levels. In analyzing the themes it became evident that leadership characteristics are perceived as specific skills that principals acquire through experiences only which are necessary to move schools through the change process. Some of the challenges faced were the lack of knowledge about the principal's impact on second language acquisition, lack of leadership coaching, and lack of common agreements about which best practices to use. Moreover, there appeared to be lack of agreement between the participants and other administrators about what important actions a principal takes to ensure full implementation of ELL initiatives such as English Language Development (ELD). [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]