Collaboration With Latino Families

Abstract

This article focuses on how education personnel can foster a climate and infrastructure for working collaboratively with Latino families. The author argues that collaboration is facilitated when educators understand how they, as school agents, accept a Latino community’s culture, knowledge, and power within the school context and how educators align their values and beliefs, as well as school policies and practices, with those of the community. Included is a review of relevant literature as well as suggestions for Latino family collaboration that can be used to guide educators (special and general) in identifying mind-sets and practices that either permit or preclude authentic collaboration.