Raising student achievement is at the heart of school improvement efforts at North Central High School in Spokane, Washington. Because of the diversity of the student body at North Central, students do not all receive the same message from their families about taking a rigorous course of study that will give them options after graduation. The administrators and the staff members believe it is their responsibility to ensure that all students know the positive effects of a rigorous course of study. Although they do not claim to have arrived, increasing academic press and incorporating constructivist teaching strategies has yielded some promising gains. Staff members are responding to the challenges by intentionally implementing constructivist lessons that engage students. Students are stepping up and taking much more rigorous courses of study than ever before. North Central has other areas of focus in regard to school improvement, but academic press and constructivist teaching are at the root of every decision and goal. The school community strives to create a school that gives all students the opportunity to excel in postsecondary pursuits. (Contains 1 figure.)