INCREASING OPPORTUNITIES FOR PARTNERSHIP WITH CULTURALLY AND LINGUISTICALLY DIVERSE FAMILIES

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.''.