"Participating in culturally relevant teaching essentially means that teachers create a bridge between students' home and school lives, while still meeting the expectations of the district and state curricular requirements. Culturally relevant teaching utilizes the backgrounds, knowledge, and experiences of the students to inform the teacher's lessons and methodology.

"Whatever the environment, school leaders play an important role in developing the kinds of relationships that foster academic rigor. One model that I developed--reality pedagogy--supports this work. It recognizes that academically rigorous teaching and learning are deeply personal; it begins with the understanding that a school's approach to teaching is unlikely to meet student needs unless students' cultures, backgrounds, and experiences are reflected in the curriculum. When students see themselves in the curriculum, they develop stronger relationships with both their teachers and peers--and with the content as well."

"Historically Responsive Literacy is when teaching, learning, and leadership beliefs and practices authentically respond to: students' cultural (and other) identities; the cultural (and other) identities of others; the social times (historical and current)."