Principal Morgan and her teaching staff are pleased at the level of diversity in their student population and among their students' families. These families bring to their communities a rich variety of perspectives, traditions, languages, educational levels, strengths, and challenges. The composition of these diverse families may vary and may include stepparents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. For some, the extended family may also comprise neighbors, clergy, or anyone actively involved in the care of the child. At the school's weekly staff meeting, Principal Morgan uses a slideshow to illustrate the diversity of the families at M. T. Watkins Middle School.

View the movie to the right to see the slideshow Principal Morgan showed to her staff. (Time: 1:06)

View Description

Following her slideshow presentation, Principal Morgan highlights some key points about families: Families are groups that care for and offer mutual support to their members. Families are interconnected and interdependent: What happens to one member of the family can affect the dynamics of the whole family. Families are defined in a number of ways.

Anne T. Henderson Senior Consultant Community Involvement Program, Annenberg Institute for School Reform Washington, DC

Listen to Anne Henderson talk about the various definitions of families. (Time: 1:47) View Transcript

Having viewed Principal Morgan's slideshow, the staff begins to recognize that the families of children with disabilities represent diversity in all the same ways as other families (e.g., composition, size, income, culture, ethnicity). Principal Morgan informs them that, according to national statistics, disability affects one in five persons. The staff wants to learn how to support and include these families as they would any other, and they're determined to look for ways to help them to be involved at whatever level they can.

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