In this story, Nelhai, a teacher in the King Open Extended Day program, shares an account of her journey working to build bridges of cultural understanding with the families of the children in her program. Reflecting on your own biases and assumptions is a key first step in this process, she explains. Through Nelhai's story we learn that putting in the time and effort to find common ground with families can improve relationships with them and, ultimately, improve outcomes for children.

Guiding Questions

• How can we ask parents about their experiences and expectations for their children and for us? How can we learn about their hopes and dreams for their children?
• How can we work with children and families to create a shared common culture in our classrooms based on equity, inclusiveness and justice?
• How can we find common ground with families and explore our common values? What do we do when our values and families' values don't align?

Our Takeaway

• Remember who the children's first teachers are. Learn about where the children and families are coming from.
  Find common ground and build community together. ​