Experiences with and studies of a formal network of 18 elementary schools--the League of Cooperating Schools (LCS)--in Southern California are described and analyzed in a narrative account, with observations, of the network's creation and maturation. This set of formal agreements between the school districts and the Research Division of the Institute for Development of Educational Activities, Inc. (IDEA) was designed to provide IDEA with access to the schools to study their self-improvement efforts, in return for human resources to assist with these efforts, and information to be derived from these studies. Underlying concepts included the view that the individual school is a key unit for change within the system of education and the principal is critical to the process, and that change must occur under enormous constraints of the external systems. Meetings between principals established this group as critical to decision-making and a newsletter helped to increase network information/communication. The IDEA office maintained a monitoring research function, but encountered problems concerning degree of consulting assistance, information overkill, and role of the expert. Despite problems, principals, teachers, students, and parents emerge as the major resources for improvement of schools. However, more educational data is needed in order to propose constructive reform. (CWM)