The Detroit Healthy Youth Initiative is a 10-year partnership between the Detroit Public Schools (DPS) and Wayne State University (WSU) with the goal of improving the quality of school health and physical education programs throughout the city schools. Drawing on the experiences of WSU and DPS faculty, administrators, teachers, and project staff, this article outlines six core elements that are foundational to successful collaborations between universities and public schools in the pursuit of health and physical education reform. These elements consist of credible university faculty and grant personnel, university faculty who are sensitive to the educational challenges of urban schools, culturally relevant and urban-tailored curriculum and instructional resources, external funding and program promotion, opportunities for sustained peer-mentoring among urban teachers, and building trust as a cornerstone of relationships.