Insofar as urban school systems that are often identified as ineffective include such a large segment of U.S. P-12 students, it is vital to improve academic success. To provide context, the article first discusses key challenges facing urban schools. Second, the article identifies and briefly reviews a variety of approaches to reform models often employed in efforts to improve student learning in urban schools. Third, the article briefly discusses the importance of principal leadership in relation to school success and an overview of approaches to leadership. Then, the article offers recommendations regarding leadership, instructional leadership, cultural leadership, and change leadership important to urban school reform. The article rounds out with a brief conclusion.