Possible reasons for the nationwide increase in the number of children identified as learning disabled (LD) include abrogation of general education's responsibility toward difficult to educate children, increasing differences in preservice general and special education training, the increase in parent/student rights litigation, and parental preference for "special" education. Concern with this increasing number of children identified as learning disabled and lack of success with the traditional pull-out resource program led the school district of Independence, Missouri, to develop the Focus Curriculum Program for third graders (LD and non-handicapped) scoring below the 30th percentile in reading. The Curriculum provides an all-day program focused on reading instruction and follows principles demonstrated by the effective schools research including increasing student time-on-task, improving the quality of teacher-pupil interactions, and lowering the teacher-student ratio. Students spend between one and three academic quarters in the program. Preliminary results with 56 LD students indicate the intervention had a significant effect on reading scores and that this improvement was sustained a year later in the regular fourth grade. Problems have included difficulties with reintegration into the regular class and reluctance by LD resource teachers to believe that so much growth is possible in such a short time. Expansion of the program might provide students with needed remedial help before they are identified as learning disabled. (DB)