School leaders typically encounter district policies and procedures that make it difficult to facilitate school improvement efforts effectively (Bottoms & Fry, 2009; Bottoms & Schmidt-Davis, 2010). When the San Antonio Independent School District earned a state level distinction as a District of Innovation, the PDS principal and university faculty liaison took advantage of this opportunity to develop innovative curricular initiatives, including the implementation of a bi-weekly half-day of planning and professional development for elementary teachers while students take field trips and participate in Curiosity Corner, an 80-minute block for engineering challenges. When the PDS leaders' plan to garner enough parent and community volunteers to sustain Curiosity Corner failed, they shifted their attention from directly supporting teachers' learning during these half-day enrichment sessions, instead taking direct responsibility for planning and facilitating student learning. This unexpected turn of events brought with it unanticipated benefits to both students and PDS leaders.