"Wood's unflinching honesty on teaching is a beacon in a world rife with misinformation, capitalist exploitation, and a perpetual commitment to white supremacy. By lifting up the role of the citizen teacher, his challenge is clear: we cannot run from the problems of the world and hide in our classrooms. Instead, we must organize and build with those who know their oppression and work to abolish it permanently." -David Stovall, Professor, Black Studies and Criminology, Law, and Justice, University of Illinois at Chicago, USA

"This is an exciting book that points the way forward for educators and all who care about transforming schools towards democracy, justice, and liberation. With a compelling vision, powerful stories, and practical guidance, it shows why and how teachers can become community organizers, creating equitable schools in deep partnership with families, students, and communities. Get this book, read it, and use it!" -Mark R. Warren, Professor, University of Massachusetts Boston, USA, and author of Willful Defiance: The Movement to Dismantle the School-to-Prison Pipeline

This book explores how citizen teachers can expand our capacities to generate more equitable and just spaces with families by working as community organizers. Paying particular attention to community organizing work in one elementary school, the book weaves stories and examples with theoretical understandings to support emerging citizen teachers in creating more democratic spaces. Each chapter provides key community organizing concepts and skills and offers lessons learned to identify what worked and what did not. By building solidarity with families, citizen teachers can effectively activate more powerful practices grounded in the lives of students, their families, and their communities while articulating a broader response to the conditions impactingeducators.