When a new community forms, whether it is an elementary school class or a teacher inquiry group, co-constructing norms or community expectations is often one of the members' first tasks. The authors advocate that norms should be given to (rather than created by) a newly formed community to elevate the different needs, goals, and perspectives of all team members, including those who feel marginalized. This is the approach they take in the Knowles Teacher Initiative, where the authors work with beginning high school math and science teachers to examine their teaching practices. The teaching fellows, who participate in a five-year program of mentoring and coaching plus financial support and membership in the Knowles Teacher Initiative national network, come with a range of educational backgrounds and varied beliefs, values, and expectations about teaching and learning. With such diverse perspectives, the authors believe it is important to provide a set of consistent norms at the beginning of their fellowship experience and then help the fellows understand what these norms mean and look like in action, and how they build, support, and protect an inclusive learning community for the whole cohort. This article explains the authors' rationale behind their approach and presents the norms they have given their fellows.