Ek. Thorp, INCREASING OPPORTUNITIES FOR PARTNERSHIP WITH CULTURALLY AND LINGUISTICALLY DIVERSE FAMILIES, Intervention in school and clinic, 32(5), 1997, pp. 261-269
It is ''Back to School Night'' at a large elementary school serving an
ethnically, linguistically, and economically diverse suburban communi
ty. There is a large turnout, and parents seem to have enjoyed themsel
ves. There is a loud hum as they exchange information among themselves
and talk excitedly to teachers. After all of the parents have left, t
he teachers linger to discuss the success of the evening. In the cours
e of the conversation, a special education teacher of a mixed-age K-3
classroom seems to become less excited. Finally she confides her disap
pointment to a fellow teacher, ''Not one of the parents of my second-l
anguage kids came tonight. I just don't understand how to get them to
come in. I hope it's not like last year-I never even met some of my pa
rents.''.