Because educators continue to face challenges when seeking to educate all children, there is a growing recognition that schools must work with communities to maximize their collective educational potential (Murphy, Beck, Crawford, Hodges, & McGauphy, 2001). Although community schools are still in the emergent stages of development, their emphasis on school-community relations holds great promise. However, one component conspicuously absent from the community schools model is leadership. Research suggests that school leadership has a positive influence on successful school reform because it affects student success and learning (Goertz, Floden, & O'Day, 1995; Pechman & Fiester, 1994). This article seeks to inform the work of school leaders in community schools by considering the principles of democratic leadership in the development of effective community schools leadership.