Situated in the heart of the fertile San Joaquin Valley twenty miles north of Fresno, the city of Madera has a population of 56,710 people. Agriculture is the driving force behind the local economy; the area produces more than 100 crops including raisin grapes, almonds, figs, pistachios, alfalfa, corn, milk, cattle and poultry. The total value of agricultural commodities produced in Madera County exceeds one billion dollars annually, yet the median income is $33,033--well below the national or state averages--and a significant percentage of the population (32.5%) lives below the poverty line. In the last two decades, the city has experienced steady population growth as people were drawn to the area by the lower cost of living and migrant workers followed the agricultural jobs. Like many communities across California, Madera has felt the impact of the economic downturn and state budget crisis in its local economy and its school budget. Special education has not been a hot-button issue in this community. In late spring of 2004, Madera Unified School District was notified of its Program Improvement (PI) status in Special Education due to poor performance on the state's standardized tests. The numbers reflected the grim reality for the 1,290 students receiving special education services in the district: only 4% of students with disabilities scored proficient or above in English Language Arts and only 9% scored proficient or above in math. However, PI status, unwanted as it was, put the spotlight on special education. It demanded action and triggered a system-wide response to the under-achievement of special education students. This paper describes how Madera Unified School District began to articulate an overarching strategy to raise achievement for special education students. (Contains 8 exhibits and 12 footnotes.)