The purpose of the present study was threefold: (a) What was the state of classroom teaching in Sierra Leone's rural schools? (b) What did school leaders report to be the most immediate needs for improving schools in rural Sierra Leone? (c) What contextual features affected school improvement in rural Sierra Leone? We employed a case study method in which multiple data sources were collected and examined: We observed 40 lessons in seven different rural schools; participated in informal discussions with rural teachers, principals, and parents; and recorded observational data when we taught literacy methods workshops with new literacy coaches who were hired to mentor teachers in the rural regions. Findings indicate that rural teachers were mostly volunteers without any formal preparation to teach. Their lessons often involved large classes of children chorally reading or reciting information from classroom chalkboards, and rural classrooms lacked an adequate number of books and resources for children's learning to read and write. We argue that more resources need to be allocated to improve rural teachers' capacity to teach, the rural schools need more learning materials, girls require greater encouragement to attend school, and newly certified teachers from Sierra Leone's colleges need incentives to teach in the country's rural regions. The challenges that we observed in Sierra Leone are analogous to those in the United States where some children in our poorest schools often lack certified teachers, sufficient books and learning resources for learning to read and write, as well.