Describing the SouthEastern Regional Vision for Education (SERVE) program and its mission to promote and support the continual improvement of educational opportunities for all learners in the Southeast, this paper focuses on the importance of improving student literacy outcomes in schools due to the demands of living in a technological, information-based society. Focusing on two North Carolina local education agencies, it discusses "The New Three R's in Reading and Writing: Research, Redesign, and Rubrics" and considers their application in a reading literacy case report of how a reading program was changed. The paper then describes Surry County's experience with the Developing Efficient Readers project. It concludes with a discussion of the commonalities and differences of each approach and makes 5 recommendations for district leaders. A questionnaire, a list of about 70 SERVE publications, and an order form for the SERVE publications are included. (SC)