The purpose of the study was to determine the connection between the principals' behaviors, especially their visibility, and the academic success of their schools while participating in the Alabama Math, Science, and Technology Initiative (AMSTI). The qualitative method of gathering and analyzing data was used, and the case study research design was employed to fully engage with the participants in the study. Based on the transformational leadership framework first described by James MacGregor Burns in 1978 and extending the study conducted by Kathryn Campbell Hilliker in 2007, this study was conducted to observe the instructional, managerial, and political roles played by principals and their visibility in AMSTI schools to ensure the academic success of their students. The following questions were used to guide this study: What are the instructional, managerial, and political roles that principals in AMSTI schools play to support the best practices pedagogy that is promoted by AMSTI? How are the principals involved with AMSTI in their schools? What organizational changes were needed within the schools to implement AMSTI? The larger population of the study included all of the principals within the state of Alabama whose schools have participated in training and have earned the distinction of being AMSTI schools. There were over fifteen hundred schools in the state of Alabama with nearly fifty percent of them being AMSTI schools. In order to provide a strong, rich amount of data, the researcher based the study on between five and ten principals representing each geographical area as well as each academic level: elementary, and middle school so that a large and varied amount of data could be collected. While the data were collected through the lens of the types of leadership roles in which the principals found themselves, the findings supported the principals' abilities to lead the staff members into building a sense of community for the benefit of each other and the students through shared leadership. The findings indicate that, while principals are not before students in a classroom on a daily basis, their job is vitally important to the successful implementation of AMSTI. [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.]