Two mail surveys were conducted as a province-wide needs assessment to examine the opportunities for, barriers to, and participation in physical activity in Ontario elementary and secondary schools. Dillman's Tailored Design Method (TDM) was used to maximize the quality of responses and the response rate. Both surveys entailed five mailings to key informants from randomly selected schools. The response rate among the 599 elementary and 600 secondary schools was 85% and 79%, respectively. This article discusses how the TDM strategies (i.e., strategies to establish trust, increase perceived rewards, and decrease perceived costs among key informants) were used to yield high response rates, examines the response rates after each mailing, and shares some lessons learned, which will be useful to researchers who are considering using the TDM in surveys designed to develop and evaluate programs. (Contains 1 figure and 3 tables.)