As the first principal of a new Title 1 school in Texas, Deborah Brennan faced the challenge of where to begin improving instruction when a school's population bears no resemblance to the traditional Response to Intervention pyramid (in which 75-85 percent of students flourish with Tier 1 instruction). In contrast, nearly 300 of the 850 students entering Robert P. Hernandez Middle School had failed the state assessment in reading. Even more had failed in math. Brennan realized that it wasn't only academic support Hernandez students needed to thrive; they also needed social-emotional skills that would enable them to learn. Brennan describes how (relying heavily on teacher collaboration and processes that helped students set goals and track their own performance) she guided strengthening of the academic side of the school--and also created a strong, relational school culture to heighten kids' social-emotional skills and attachment to the middle school.