This article chronicles the efforts of one college faculty and their school partners to respond to the contemporary challenges faced by teacher education. It depicts the authors' journey through the planning and implementation of an innovative initial certification master's of arts in teaching (MAT) program in elementary education in the southeastern United States. The desperate local need for such a program, the process of program design, and the lessons the authors have learned firsthand from the experience are described. The authors believe that sharing the process of new program development can be instructive to other teacher educators contemplating program reform in response to regional needs to prepare highly qualified teachers. (Contains 1 table and 1 note.)