This theme issue on standards contains 11 articles written by teachers of English and language arts in Bread Loaf's primarily rural, teacher networks. These narratives describe how teachers in Alaska, South Carolina, Ohio, Massachusetts, Kentucky, Arizona, and New Mexico are implementing state content standards while honoring local contexts for learning. Articles are: "A Call to Action: Standards in Alaska" (Scott Christian); "BLTN: Strengthening Best Practices in South Carolina" (Diane Crenshaw); "Raising the Bar with High Stakes Tests" (Hugh Dyment); "Excellence for All and from All: A Look at Standards in One Inclusion Classroom" (Lorrie Jackson); "Karina: A Personal Perspective on High Stakes Standards and Growth" (Tom McKenna); "Of Bombs, Blackness, and Beautiful Music" (poetry exchange between students in Massachusetts and Kenya) (Will Marinell, Lou Bernieri); "What Is Good Writing? Standard Deviation" (Jason B. Leclaire); "Listening to Voices: Integrating Standards and Culturally Relevant Content" (Maria Offer); "A Teamwork Approach to Implementing Curriculum Standards and School Reform" (Patricia C. Watson); "A Cross-Disciplinary BreadNet Exchange: Moving beyond the Facts" (Mary Lindenmeyer); and "Bridging the Gap with Communication Technology" (Lou McCall). This issue also contains "Aligning Electronic Exchanges with Standards: An Interview with Gail Denton" (Chris Benson, Gail Denton); brief articles on developments in the teacher networks and the Alaska teacher of the year; reports on state meetings of teacher networks; and lists of network members. (SV)