The HOTS project is the longest running thinking development Title I intervention. For over 30 years it has served approximately 2,600 schools and half a million Title I students in grades 4-8 as the sole intervention. It is one of the few to successfully accelerate the learning of Title I students post-grade 3 and led to the change in the Title I law to require developing “advanced skills.” Research around HOTS has demonstrated that Title I students are as smart as any other students but do not have key cognitive predispositions because of limited access to key types of interactions outside of school. Once these predispositions are developed, they succeed at high levels. However, developing these skills requires an approach that is contrary to how progressive reforms have attempted to develop the thinking and problem-solving skills of Title I students. This session will highlight how this alternative form of thinking will enable Title I students to flourish in the common core.