The idea that principals should focus more closely on teaching and learning did not emerge prominently until the mid-1990s. Then educators and policy makers began to realize that school leadership matters to student achievement. In a dozen years of working with states, districts, researchers and others, the Wallace Foundation has pinpointed five key practices of effective principals. (1) Shaping a vision of success for all students; (2) Creating a climate hospitable to education; (3) Cultivating leadership in others; (4) Improving instruction; and (5) Managing people, data, and processes.