In Louisville (Kentucky), the design and effort that foster educational changes are yielding rewards in three of the district's middle schools, participants in the High Project. The High Project, which began in 1989 with the support of the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation, attempts to provide high expectations, high content, and high support for low-income students in the middle grades. The efforts in these three schools and the connection of these efforts with reforms stemming from the Kentucky Education Reform Act of 1990 are described. In taking a direction that was clearly school focused and was developed with and for teachers who participated in planning and implementing programs, the project has begun to demonstrate the possibilities for reform in urban middle schools, including the most disadvantaged. The high content and high support of the project have solidified teachers' own expectations of themselves and their expectations for meaningful professional development. The empowered teachers in project schools are in turn empowering students. (Contains 22 references.) (SLD)