This article describes the evolution and implementation of the California Basic Skills Initiative (CA BSI), a statewide effort to address ongoing basic skills and ESL needs of community college students and of all campus faculty, administrators, and staff who support these students. CA BSI strategies include assisting every college in assessing its own successes and challenges, building upon those successes, and developing internal strategies to address the challenges. The ultimate goals of the CA BSI are to increase student retention and success, as well as to increase the knowledge of what supports those successes.