Elementary charter schools increasingly serve students who are at-risk for reading challenges, giving them a critical role in establishing literacy for young children. This article examines the complexities of starting early childhood literacy programs in charter schools. Specifically, the first year of K-3 literacy programs in a new and a turnaround charter elementary school is described. Structural factors that served as facilitators and barriers to the implementation of each program are discussed. Findings suggest that teacher efficacy and organizational autonomy facilitated the development of each school's literacy programs while student mobility served as a barrier. The recommendation that charter schools prepare for "start-up" effects before planning early childhood literacy programs is made.