The intensifying attention to college and career readiness of late poses many challenges for public education, but it also presents opportunities for innovative changes in the quality and type of education provided to students. To take full advantage, educators must have a clear answer to this question: What does college and career readiness mean for students, particularly for those who plan to enter the workforce immediately after high school without first attending college? In today's world, career readiness means more than the ability to accept and maintain a position over time. It means readiness for additional learning that will lead to a better job. No single program or isolated reform can substitute for a coherent, long-term, systemwide approach to improving teaching and learning. The authors are affiliated with the National Center for Educational Achievement and suggest their organization's Core Practice Framework as one resource that can help superintendents focus on systemwide improvement that benefits all students. The framework contains information on district, school and classroom practices in five thematic areas that are more common in higher-performing schools than in average-performing schools. The practices in the Core Practice Framework are further organized into critical actions that can be prioritized so that professional learning communities can focus on improving one or a few actions at a time. Learning team topics and discussion guides focus on improving teaching and learning among all students. The implementation of a coherent approach to school system improvement cannot be done by teachers in isolation. Well-defined school and district roles are vital to the success. The appropriate use of the framework will guide leaders on building a system for individual teachers to better serve students, whether career-bound or college-bound.