The study described here was designed to answer questions about effective instruction in low socioeconomic status (SES) elementary schools by focusing on classroom organization and management, especially what specific steps are important at the beginning of the year. This progress report details the history of the study, describes data collection activities, and proposes future collaborative activities to follow. Interviews, questionnaires, classroom observation, and student engagement ratings are used to gather and analyze data. Appendices provide examples of: (1) a proposal for the research to be conducted: (2) the handout given to participating teachers to describe the study; (3) outlines and follow-up questions; (4) the manual for student engagement ratings; and (5) guidelines for using component ratings. The purpose was to discover what strategies work best and what mistakes can prevent a smoothly running classroom from developing. (DS)