Hiring alternative certified teachers has been a plausible solution to meeting the growing needs for highly qualified teachers in the classroom. Not only is there a need for teachers, there is also a need for strong leadership in education. Newly hired teachers must not only be prepared to tackle the everyday issues and responsibilities of the classroom but must reinforce strong leadership within their campus as well. Understanding alternatively certified teacher leaders' perceptions of their success in education was the primary focus of this study. Alternatively certified teacher leaders who have become administrators in hard to hire rural school districts in South Texas were interviewed. This study will significantly add to the literature on alternatively certified teacher leaders who have become administrators. Themes that emerged in this study include: teacher leadership, distributed leadership, teacher self-efficacy and alternative certification administrators. [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.]