ABSTRACT
Much of what Barbara does to establish and maintain her classroom as a learning community is done within the classroom, but she is very aware that her classroom community is nested within a larger school community, which in turn is nested within a larger school district and residence area. Consequently, she takes pains to communicate and collaborate with significant others within these larger communities. Most directly, these significant others include her students’ family members. Barbara understands the impact that her students’ families can have on learning in her classroom. She values those family members and seeks to develop working relationships with them. She establishes and maintains contact with families both to keep them informed about what is going on in her classroom and to identify ways in which they can collaborate to support her students’ learning and general well-being.
