Using in-depth interviewing, participant observations, and the review of historical and curricular documents, this paper describes and analyzes two Latino community-based small high schools--the Dr Pedro Albizu Campos High School (PACHS) and El Puente Academy for Peace and Justice (El Puente). The findings suggest that these schools are successful because they foment a culture of high academic expectations for their students, value high-quality interpersonal relationships between students and teachers, and privilege the funds of knowledge that students and their respective communities bring to school. Based on these findings, a theory of critical care emerges that embodies these necessary conditions if small high schools created for and by communities of color are to succeed. Finally, the implications of this theory of critical care and its impact are discussed within the framework of small urban high school reform in the US. (Contains 5 notes.)