This paper describes conditions that enhance planned change efforts in rural secondary schools. The following six conditions are vital to school improvement efforts: (1) teacher commitment; (2) a common understanding of research on best practices; (3) collaborative planning; (4) an egalitarian approach; (5) peer leadership; and (6) support from higher education. A 4-year project in a rural Vermont school district applied the six conditions to school improvement. Teachers in a target secondary school participated in a reflection and collaborative planning process resulting in an action plan for school improvement, which is in the process of being implemented. Teachers in a contrast school are implementing the target school's plan, but did not experience the first five conditions described above. Higher education faculty conducting the study administered a 100-item school climate questionnaire during the past 3 years to faculty in both schools. In Year 1 the contrast school reported stronger instructional leadership and higher expectations for students than in the target school. By Year 3, these differences had disappeared. In Year 3 the target school reported a significant increase in the opportunities students have to learn and their time on task. In Year 1, the contrast school scored significantly higher on decisionmaking than did the target school, but by Year 3 this difference had reversed. (KS)