Through the ethnographic methodological tools of formal and informal interviews, observations, participation in coplanning sessions, and analysis of literacy curricula, the researchers of this study found that effective teachers are finding ways to work successfully within the current political climate influenced by No Child Left Behind and the focus on Adequate Yearly Progress. Based on their findings, the authors suggest ways that educators and elementary schools can continue to successfully meet the literacy needs and interests of an increasingly diverse student population despite standardization in the form of basal reading programs and one-size-fits-all conditions outlined in curricula guides and programs such as Reading First. (Contains 1 table.)