This is a study of the Piedmont Schools Project, an experimental educational program that was conducted in School District of Greenville County, South Carolina. The study is presented in three parts. Part I describes the school district and the design of the project. Part II examines the nature and effects of the change strategy with specific reference to: (1) the learning communities which formed the new instructional environment; (2) staff development; (3) decision making within the school community; and (4) community and parental involvement and satisfaction. A general discussion of such issues as test scores, the transference program, and funding concludes this section. Part III presents insights from practitioner experience and reflections from an external perspective on educational innovation and innovators. This discussion also covers the nature of innovation as a melding of component pieces of systematic change and the social meaning of building community. The section ends with suggestions for further ways of learning from the Piedmont experience. (Author/APM)