This article features Oscar F. Smith Middle School, a challenging school in Chesapeake, Virginia. When Principal Linda Scott exclaims, "Oscar F. Smith Middle School is "hot"!" to visitors, she is not referring to the inside temperature of the bustling school of grades 6-8 located in the historic South Norfolk borough of Chesapeake. She is referring to the school's belief system, adopted from Sam Parker's motivational program and book, "212[degrees]: The Extra Degree"--212[degrees] refers to when water goes from hot at 211[degrees] to boiling at 212[degrees] to make steam, which can power a locomotive. The message is everywhere: in the foyer, the hallways, and the classrooms; on pens and pencils, notebooks, wristbands; and on the lips of staff members, who are always encouraging students to make that extra degree of effort to go from "good to great." Smith is an educational community built on a strong middle level foundation of collaborative leadership; personalization; and an effective curriculum, instruction, and assessment plan.