School failure at the beginning of elementary school today may result in referral of children to special education classrooms. The teacher uses knowledge of maturational needs of the age group to prepare an intellectually and emotionally nourishing environment for the group and for the individual youngsters. The length of time a class remains together, with the adult leadership, may be an important factor of the development of successful learning patterns. Likewise, a single, particularly needy child requires a constant environment for an extended period, in order to alter destructive actions and states. The author's work with a three-year core group and with one deeply troubled student demonstrate the benefits of a developmental timeframe.