This article describes the use of standards to guide the reform of a struggling high school in Grant Michigan. The author describes the challenges and obstacles that the school was facing, and admits that school reform was difficult. Turnaround seemed impossible, but it held the promise of something larger than life: successful students who become healthy, contributing members of society. Teachers and coaches in all content areas worked in professional learning communities to review state and American College Test (ACT) assessments and identified the critical standards that students needed to master.