This research is the result of Queensland Department of Education funded research under the inaugural Education Horizon grant scheme (2016-2017) (https://education.qld.gov.au/about/Documents/eh-approved-2016.pdf). The findings have been made available on the Queensland Department of Education, Queensland Education Research Inventory (QERI). The research findings report on four case study schools which identified effective principal leadership strategies and practices for parent-school-community engagement. The research used design-based research to investigate the question: What gives some principals in educationally-disadvantaged schools the edge on parent-school-community engagement? The findings showed the principals each developed their knowledge of parent-school-community engagement through their different professional experiences as teachers and school leaders during their careers as well as through their personal experiences as parents and active citizens in their communities. Based on their experiences, they each recognised the value of: building personal, respectful relationships with others; connecting positively with individuals and organisations (school and community); being open to learning from, with, and alongside students, parents, and teachers; and pursuing professional learning opportunities for themselves, teachers, and parents. They were purposeful, proactive, anticipatory, and futures-focused, creating opportunities for parent-school-community engagement in continual, expansive, collaborative ways to benefit students, parents, and teachers in their schools as well as stakeholders in the broader community. A further phase of the research (2017-2020) has been possible with successful funding obtained from the Education Horizon grant scheme (https://education.qld.gov.au/about/Documents/eh-approved-2017.pdf). This phase has extended the research to include eight new schools as well as the original four and has included advantaged as well as disadvantaged schools. The implications of the research are of significance to school leaders, teachers, parents, community members, public policy makers and educational researchers.