ABSTRACT
Patricia Edwards an African American who grew up in the segregated Deep South, in Albany, Georgia, a mid-sized community. She often wondered why black people were so disliked and treated like second-class citizens. This chapter highlights the crucial roles that teachers, community members, and parents played in children's learning. In these communities, teachers taught students, but their teaching and interactions did not stop at the classroom door. Teachers' involvement in the local community and close relationships with parents helped children to grow as students and as individuals. Through the Home Literacy Project Edward developed, teachers worked to build closer relationships with the families of the children in the classrooms. They learned about their students and families and put structures into place that encouraged parents, caregivers, and community members to become communicating allies in the education of all children. The personalized relationships that emerged in many of the teachers' classrooms supported students' academic success.
