This discussion of an urban professional development school (PDS) partnership between Milwaukee Public Schools (Wisconsin) and University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee documents changes made and experienced by teachers, particularly changes related to moving from an ineffective basic skills approach to reading, in a school context focused on student deficits, to an approach to literacy which emphasizes experimentation, growth, and risk-taking as part of school culture. Thirty-four teachers were interviewed to identify the kinds of changes they were implementing and their perceptions of changes in students and the school as a whole. Findings are reported on three topics: patterns of teacher change, schoolwide change, and student change. The reading program's primary goals were to develop positive attitudes toward and interest in reading and to increase time spent reading. The core of the PDS partnership was supporting good literacy teaching through building multiple levels of interconnected, reciprocal support among teachers, university faculty, university students, children, parents, and administrators. The web of support included mentoring beginning teachers, an on-site reading methods course for preservice teachers, and activities to help practicing teachers master a new instructional paradigm that seeks to develop an integrated language arts program where instruction is embedded in authentic reading materials and writing in the context of authentic tasks. (IAH)