When 29 percent of final grades for students at Bendle Middle School showed up as Ds and Es, teachers knew something had to give. Kenkel, Hoelscher, and West describe how the ABCI approach, based on mastery learning, shook up a community culture of low expectations for working class kids, and opened the way for more appropriate teaching methods for at-risk middle-schoolers. Through training and facilitated reflections on their practice guided by Michigan Middle Start, Bendle faculty implemented the key aspect of ABCI: no acceptance of substandard work. For the past three years, students at Bendle have been provided as much time and help as they require to complete every school assignment to a level of C quality or higher or receive an Incomplete. The authors delineate the teaching modifications and accommodations to school structures that came along with adopting the ABCI approach.