Empirical Getting Off the List: Leadership, Learning, and Context in Two Rural, High-Needs Schools Hans W. Klar 1 , Peter Moyi 2 , Rose M. Ylimaki 2 , Suzy Hardie 2 , Parker M. Andreoli 1 , Jingtong Dou 2 , Keneisha Harrington 1 , Cindy Roper 1 , and Frederick C. Buskey 3 Abstract In this article, we report findings from two cases of rural, high-needs elementary schools in the Southeastern United States that successfully improved learning out- comes for their students. As illustrated by our findings, a combination of effective teacher professional development, focused student learning initiatives, and enhanced community and family involvement contributed to the removal of the schools from priority and below average designations. In addition to illustrating the leadership practices that positively influenced improvement efforts in these two schools, and expanding the nascent body of scholarship on context-responsive leadership, our findings serve as a starting point for a larger project centered on the nexus of school leader agency in increasingly diverse cultural contexts. Keywords school leadership, context, rural education, high-needs elementary schools, accountability 1 Clemson University, Clemson, SC, USA 2 University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA 3 Strategic Leadership Consulting, Cullowhee, NC, USA Corresponding Author: Hans W. Klar, Clemson University, Room 201, 101 Gantt Circle, Clemson, SC 29634, USA. Email: hklar@clemson.edu Journal of School Leadership 2020, Vol. 30(1) 62-83 ª The Author(s) 2019 Article reuse guidelines: sagepub.com/journals-permissions DOI: 10.1177/1052684619867474 journals.sagepub.com/home/jsl