Exploring Blue Highways: Literacy Reform, School Change and The Creation of Learning Communities JoBeth Allen, Marilynn Cary, and Lisa DelGado Foreword by Carl Glickman Language and Literacy Series Pub Date: 1995, 240 pages Paperback: $21.95, ISBN: 080773473X

This book examines language, literacy, and school reform by providing an inside view of how teacher research and reform can positively change both teachers and students, making them better readers, writers, and learners. Two elementary schools in Georgia, serving students who cope with poverty and a lack of educational resources, are the focus of the Kings Bridge Road Research Team, coordinated by JoBeth Allen, Marilynn Cary, and Lisa Delgado. This group is composed of public school teachers, administrators, and university staff, and includes voices both experienced and new to teacher research. Through their contributions to this book, these teachers and professionals redefine their roles and expectations, grappling with language and learning through their own writings and their restructuring of ideas about school. Parallel to this process, the teachers see how their students are affected by changes in the curriculum, and how forging new partnerships and communities contribute to the literacy growth of the kids.