Cultivating cultural responsiveness is an ongoing process of development as an individual and as a professional. Recognizing the need for such a perspective is the first step. Committing to personal growth and confronting difficult issues is the second. The purpose of this article is to introduce practitioners to the notion of cultural responsiveness and to highlight the basic features as a starting point for beginning this process. The authors hope that they have driven home the point that being culturally responsive is not just about developing one's knowledge and understanding of various cultures, but is also about expanding the ways in which they think about the various dimensions of culture and how they shape every aspect of schooling and professional practice, and how this understanding can be used to facilitate the development of practices that support the academic, emotional, social, and behavioral needs of all students.