To improve the quality of instruction and the achievement of all students, effective school leaders develop capacity, advocate, and create support systems for professional learning. Creating a team of teachers to share leadership, responsibility, and accountability for achieving collective goals is essential. This was the task of a first-time principal and his staff at an Elementary in Sedalia, Colorado, south of Denver. In 2010, the school scored below the district average across the board, and at or below the state average in grades 3-6. The principal wanted to transform the culture of the school into one of high expectations and shared responsibility, aligning all professional learning to a continuous improvement process, but he had to convince the staff of the importance of sharing leadership and accepting change. The first step in developing shared leadership was to identify a process and criteria to select a school team that represented the rest of the school staff. The next step was identifying the right structures and processes to guide them. Clearly defined were two functions of the leadership team: (1) their role to lead the school forward in student achievement and (2) their responsibility for leading the development, implementation, and monitoring of the school improvement plan. The results of the shared leadership responsibilities was reflected in the next year as students in grades 4-6 showed improvement in their proficiency and advanced scores on the state writing assessment. The leadership team continues to learn how to monitor the implementation and effectiveness of improvement strategies, and the staff continues to implement writing initiatives.