Since its creation in 1987, the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) has implemented a national voluntary system to assess and certify teachers who meet rigorous teaching standards. Testimony from over 16,000 NBPTS certified teachers has revealed that the journey toward certification is often difficult, time-consuming, and resource-intensive. To assist qualified teachers make this journey and eventually earn NBPTS certification, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation began in 1998 to fund the Charlotte Collaborative Project--a multifaceted initiative to improve teaching and student learning by helping teachers in the nation's 12th-largest school district, Charlotte-Mecklenburg, earn NBPTS certification. The project was designed to serve as a prototype for organizations interested in fostering the objectives of the NBPTS. This article evaluates the project's performance and offers recommendations regarding future efforts to support NBPTS goals and the needs of NBPTS certification candidates.