The PDS Partnership between the University of Central Florida and Friendship Elementary School, a Title 1 school in Volusia County, focused on the National Association for Professional Development Schools' (PDS) "Essentials" in order to establish a shared vision of success for pre-service teachers. Key leaders from both the school and the university utilized their knowledge about co-teaching and created a vision for this unique partnership. This vision developed into a program involving high expectations for mentor teachers, teacher candidates, and early field learners (EFLs). The purpose of this partnership was to improve the academic achievement among the authors' population of students of low socio-economic means. In this article the authors briefly detail how they have attempted to address all nine of the NAPDS Essentials.