This study intended to explore the relation between an elementary school principal's ability to demonstrate transformational leadership characteristics and school climate. Various definitions of transformational leadership theory exist in leadership literature. This study adopted Leithwood and Jantzi's (1997a) definition of transformational leadership and attempted to describe the relation between the six transformational leadership characteristics and school climate. A singularly accepted definition of school climate is not prevalent in the literature; however, the importance of school climate on the educational environment has been the focus of numerous studies. This study utilized the definition operationalized by Hoy, Smith, and Sweetland (2002) and its corresponding characteristics. A quantitative group comparison and correlational research design was employed to analyze staff responses to the Leadership Management and Organizational Climate (LMOC) survey instrument. The electronically administered LMOC consisted of 63 statements regarding staff perceptions of school climate and their principal's ability to demonstrate transformational leadership characteristics. The administration of the survey was a complete enumeration of eligible respondents. Correlational and multiple regression analyses were used to examine the 191 responses. The results of the analysis led to multiple conclusions. The first is that the principals' ability to demonstrate transformational leadership characteristics positively influences school climate. Additional analysis revealed that the principals' ability to symbolize good professional practice had the strongest statistically significant positive relation with staff perception of school climate. This study also revealed that staff member type of position played a role in perception of school climate, whereas years of experience did not. Implications for practitioners, educational hiring practices, professional development design, and principal evaluative practices are offered at the conclusion of this study. [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.]