Despite years of controversy about what counts as rigorous educational research and significant amounts of taxpayers' support for related reform of U.S. public schools, serious inequities in U.S. K-12 education remain. The authors of this essay bring the perspectives of two tenured university teacher educators who share a background of over 40 years as K-12 teachers, to consider the role of joint collaborative inquiry between university teacher educators and practitioner researchers as a vital component for informing school change. They first ask that university culture recognize local funds of knowledge within scholarship as key to informing the global. Next, they request that professional organizations better promote scholarship that involves joint inquiry by acknowledging its multiple outcomes and audiences. In conclusion, they urge their colleagues to join dialogues within their field that recenter partnership research, making it visible and useful in the quest for effective educational reform.