This book is designed primarily for principals in Right to Read programs and elsewhere, as both a theoretical description of competencies required for educational leadership and as a practical handbook for implementing leadership functions. The volume utilizes the interviews and self-analyses of 36 principals who participated in the Bank Street Right to Read Program, as first hand resources for the delineation of competencies required for enacting the leadership role in enabling adults to develop an effective reading environment in the school. The competencies identified by the principals are in the areas of staff development, leadership roles and relationships, and parent/community interaction. Each of these areas is discussed in the various chapters, in which are also listed resources and references for implementing and enacting the programmatic and administrative aspects. Six different self-rating instruments are placed in the appropriate chapters. The appendix offers a selective list of books and periodicals which are representative of the kinds of reading materials one might expect to find in the principal's bookcase. (TS)