How might a district support significant teacher and program change that results in higher student reading achievement while using its own personnel? To answer this question, we explored five districts in one Midwestern state that tried to do just that with the help of a local university. We used both quantitative and qualitative data, including existing data and documents from the districts. The findings and discussion point to a new approach to literacy instruction in schools and districts that emphasizes embedded and sustained professional growth and development supported by expert literacy decision making from within. Results indicated that the flexible Early Reading Empowerment literacy approach positively affected both teacher change and student achievement. (Contains 3 tables.)