This study explored how the educational governance team, composed of the superintendent and school board, can, in their collaborative efforts and decision-making processes, influence school district climate and impact student achievement. Though in form and function, school boards have not changed much in their almost 200 years of existence, few can argue that NCLB has dramatically changed the educational landscape of this country with its unprecedented focus on standards based education and accountability. School boards and the districts they help to lead must accomplish more with fewer resources, especially during this time of staggering fiscal crisis at the national and state level. Most recent studies and intervention strategies have centered on reform at the school site level as opposed to looking at district level structures that can facilitate systemic reform and growth. Researchers argue that school-site level interventions result in only about half of schools moving from under-performing to successful (Brady, 2003), while reform efforts that look at systemic district-level processes force the entire organization (i.e. the school district) to examine district level actions that can influence and impact student achievement (DiPaola & Smith, 2008). Investigation of stakeholder perception of district climate and its relations to student achievement revealed that, in this study, a district whose stakeholders perceived their climate favorably also had high student achievement. Conversely, a district whose stakeholders did not perceive their climate favorably did not have high student achievement. An examination of the educational governance team's impact on district climate, through their decision-making around policy that engenders and supports structures that foster student achievement, revealed that school boards can, in the decisions they make, influence district climate and, in turn, student achievement. [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://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]