Using data from a 2-year empirical project in an urban school within the United States, this article describes how educators of preschool, transitional-kindergarten and kindergarten (PreK-TK-K) altered perceptions and practices as a result of participating in a purposefully crafted professional learning community using collaborative enquiry. Emergent thematic findings highlight shifts in educator understanding and application of interactive reading practice and alignment across classrooms of young learners. This vertical professional learning community provided space and time where educators constructed meaning through collaborative enquiry, video observations and reflection, which informed educator thinking and enriched student interaction for literacy learning. (author abstract)