Shortly before the school opened, the principal took teachers on a bus tour of the local neighborhood to help them understand their students' home lives. At Inter-American School in Chicago, which was founded two decades ago by a small group of parents and teachers, parents continue to play a strong role in running the school. These schools have broadened their mission to embrace the whole child by including families in their educational enterprise. In a variety of ways, they seek to involve parents as positive forces in their children's school lives. Although each school offers different avenues for parent involvement, they all pursue the following objectives.
Schools demonstrate respect for the parents of their students.
In a number of ways, schools create an atmosphere of acceptance and respect for students from all cultural and linguistic backgrounds. All of the schools display material with cultural themes in hallways and classrooms, and sponsor special family events featuring different cultures. Some schools have made cross-cultural understanding a part of their formal curriculum. During this month, teachers of both core academic subjects and electives focus on developing students' respect for diversity. By hiring bilingual teachers, aides, and administrative staff, all of the schools provide students with role models who share their own parents' language and culture.