This report presents a brief history of the Abbott School Construction Program, describes the implementation to date, lays out some current challenges, and outlines lessons learned from the process so far--what is known now about how such an initiative should be planned and carried out. The report is intended to illuminate the complex process of facilities planning, design and construction, and to assist policy-makers and advocates, in New Jersey and elsewhere, in the effort to renovate and construct schools that meet the needs of students and educators, and the communities they serve. The following seven appendixes are included: (1) Key Components of the Court-Ordered School Construction Program; (2) The Educational Facilities Construction and Financing Act as of 2000; (3) Executive Order No. 24; (4) Key Components of Director McNeill's SCC Strategic Internal Plan; (5) Abbott District's Key Responsibilities under the Abbott School Construction Program; (6) School Construction Program: Proposals for Community Input; and (7) Abbott School Construction Program Flow Chart. (Contains 51 footnotes.) [Additional support for this report was provided through the BEST initiative, funded by the Ford Foundation, and the Schumann Fund for New Jersey.]