A study of professional development intervention programs in which schools choose their own issues and action plans is presented in this report. "Intervention" refers to university introduction of new professional development models into the school. A 3-year program involving five schools in collaboration with university staff members and leadership teams was evaluated by site visitations, interviews with 111 teachers and 4 administrators, and field notes of all interactions. Findings identified the following characteristics of supportive intervention: active involvement; acknowledgement of the affective dimension; recognition of the interdependent university/school relationship; and adaptation to the individual school culture. An outcome was the achievement of short-term rather than long-term goals caused by the failure to maintain leadership team roles in absence of university support. A final recommendation calls for caution in dealing with the adversarial relationship that often exists between teachers and administrators. One figure and three tables are included. (18 references) (LMI)