In order to achieve middle school literacy success over time in an urban school district with a high poverty rate and a growing population of English language learners (ELLs), the Chicago Public School (CPS) System has adopted a pedagogical strategy that relies on instruction that is data-driven (formative and summative), standards-based (utilizing state board of education standards and performance descriptors), and classics-rich. This presentation elaborates on these three components as they have evolved over the past five years resulting in system-wide literacy improvement. Major elements of this literacy reform include: innovative systems of instruction, professional development modules, systems of accountability, and the implementation of a comprehensive coaching network. The implications of this major literacy reform movement have impacted teachers and their individual classrooms, principals and their learning communities, and regional instruction officers and their comprehensive network of schools. In this way, the entire middle school network of teaching and learning in Chicago Public Schools has experienced steady growth over time. Consequently, as this literacy movement enters its sixth year, a paradigm shift is taking place in which "instructional" leadership is becoming the priority. In this way, the commitment to sustain middle school reading improvement and innovation is growing within a meaningful structure rooted in research, accountability, and high standards.