The mandates of the federal law "No Child Left Behind," enacted in 2002, have placed tremendous pressure on school principals in this current era of unprecedented accountability. Because of the increasing number of targeted schools, the rigid standards of federal legislation, and the punitive consequences imposed by accountability systems, effective principals are more critical to a school's success than ever before. Principals must employ effective leadership practices throughout their responsibilities to meet these serious challenges. This study examined the elementary school principals in Maury County, Tennessee. Teachers were asked to identify their perceptions of the principal's leadership practices as well as the openness of the climate of their school. Instruments of measurement included the Teacher Perceptions of Leadership Practices survey (TPLP) developed by Dr. Kate Asbill and the Organizational Climate Descriptive Questionnaire for Elementary Schools (OCDQ-RE) developed by Dr. Wayne Hoy. [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.]