ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the creation of an inquiry community within a public school district. Burbank Early Education Center, in the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD), partnered with the Mills Teacher Scholars program to establish a collaborative inquiry group for the early childhood special education (ECSE) teachers in the district. The story of the learning community in the chapter represents the first time the Mills Teacher Scholars have worked with early childhood teachers specifically. The chapter also looks at the role of external facilitators in the inquiry process, and the benefits and problematic aspects of this role. The work with Mills Teacher Scholars began when the former site administrator at Burbank, now the director of early child education in the district, wanted to build a learning community amongst the ECSE department in OUSD, with the teachers at a main campus in addition to teachers with classrooms in other OUSD elementary schools.
