While reform options such as creating new schools seem tempting, they challenge the ills of public schools with new school creation under the same system. Of interest are the lessons that can be gleaned from teachers at a new small school that serves a Black American population. A theory on declining institutions was used to explore teachers' experiences and the feasibility of exit, voice, and loyalty as mechanisms of recuperation. Interview data concerning the benefits and challenges of working at a small school in a larger system illuminate the realities of changing a system from within. With an investigation of the lessons learned, the educational community was able to explore the viability of a Small School option as an effective way to provide an equitable, free education for non-White students in large urban school districts.