Collaboration skills are essential for all teachers, but crucial for personnel who instruct students with disabilities. Through collaboration, families and professionals are able to combine their strengths and wisdom to make education as appropriate as possible for the student. Capitalizing on each other's knowledge and expertise not only helps the student, it also makes for stronger families and more competent professionals. But what may come as a surprise, in schools and universities teacher education candidates do not gain extensive training and experience in collaborative teamwork; however, research reveals that it is possible to effectively teach collaboration, listening, and to some extent, cooperative skills (Cortez & et al., 2009; Taylor & et al., 1988). This manuscript reports on the status of collaboration-skill development, the many advantages of effective parent-professional partnerships, legal mandates for parental involvement in the education of persons with disabilities, essential collaboration skills needed by teachers, and provides an account of the extent to which pre-service candidates in one responsive teacher preparation program are acquiring collaboration skills. The evidence suggests that teacher candidates are on the right track but may need more in-depth training and experience to develop an appropriate level of confidence to work effectively with parents and other professionals as they prepare to teach children in today's schools.