A historical and qualitative analysis of a northern urban de facto segregated school is presented that explains the unique factors of the school's history that led to the maintenance of the school today. The focus is on the school's context, its historical and present-day leadership, and its past and present teachers. In considering the school's urban context, the most important factor is the political process. The Champion Avenue School, Columbus, Ohio, was built and made into an all-black school because it was in the heart of a growing African American community, and not because it was legally defined as an all-black school. The racial segregation at Champion was de facto, but it accomplished the purposes of placing black students and black teachers together. Leadership, in the persons of the school's early principals, made it a significant force in its impoverished community. Profiles of the school's principals from its founding in 1910 through desegregation show the essential role they played. Without the support of an exemplary teaching staff, however, Champion Avenue School could never have been the community force it has been. While its founding faculty was all black, the school presently has a white majority teaching staff. The school's teaching legacy is preserved by some dedicated and caring faculty members who focus on the needs of the urban child, and who recognize the role of the school in the black community. (Contains 35 references.) (SLD)