This convergent mixed methods study examined six principals' literacy leadership practices and student literacy achievement in first grade. This study utilized TPRI data from the 2018-2019 school year and qualitative data from principal interviews from the same school year. Participants in this study included 354 first grade students and six campus principals from across Texas. The principals were placed into two groups: elementary education certified, and non-elementary education certified. The Mann-Whitney U non-parametric test was used to find differences between the principal groups and TPRI scores for Phonemic Awareness, Graphophonemic Knowledge, and Word Reading for BOY and EOY task sets scores. The MANOVA was used to evaluate differences between the principal's undergraduate degree, certification, and teaching experiences to the student's BOY and EOY TPRI scores. An open-ended questionnaire was used during an interview session with each of the six principals. Out of the six task set scores, the Mann-Whitney U revealed no statistically significant difference between both groups of principals. However, for the MANOVA test results, the analysis found a significant main effect, F(6,347) = 5.03, p < 0.001, partial eta-squared = 0.08. The subsequent between-subjects tests showed only one significant difference amongst the six outcomes, Beginning of the Year Graphophonemic Knowledge, p = 0.03. All other bivariate comparisons were non-significant. Results from this study will assist policy makers, principal preparation programs, superintendents, principals, and other researchers with understanding the importance of early literacy knowledge and leadership practices. [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://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]