The 1992 award of a New American Schools Development Corporation (NASD
C) grant to Gaston County Schools for the design and implementation of
the Odyssey Project began a period of intense school reform and commu
nity activism in this semirural, working-class White county in North C
arolina, The Odyssey Project was to be a comprehensive school restruct
uring effort that would integrate education with other social services
throughout the community. A prolonged and painful battle among school
officials, educators, parents, and other stakeholders in the communit
y ended when NASDC withdrew funding from the Odyssey Project before th
e first anniversary of the award. This article describes and analyzes
the role of ordinary women in shaping the course of school reform in t
heir community. The women who mobilized the counter-movement to the Od
yssey Project framed the debate as the juncture between a national, el
ite-led reform movement and a locally situated grassroots counter-move
ment protecting children, families, and the larger community's identit
y. This article offers insights into the interplay of class conflict,
regionalism, and gender roles in the processes of local school reform.