Forge a strong partnership with parents by meeting them on their own turf.
Sometimes it’s hard to get the help you need from parents in getting their children motivated and ready to learn—especially when the parents didn’t go to school themselves or had a bad time of it.
There are many approaches to enlisting parents’ support. The program outlined here was developed by parents and teachers working together in Sacramento, California, with strong support from the Sacramento City Teachers Association. It has been used in hundreds of schools in six states.
At least half of the faculty should want to do it.
Nobody should be forced to do it or punished for not doing it.
Everybody who does it should be paid.
Typically, there’s a three-hour training program before the home visits start.
Preparing for a visit:
Don’t visit only kids in trouble. That puts a stigma on getting a visit. Go see everybody, or if that’s not possible, be sure to include at least some students who are doing well.
When you call to set up a visit, offer alternative times—few parents will say no if you’re flexible. Most visits are in the afternoon or on weekends. If the parents are uncomfortable inviting you into their home, meet at a coffee shop, a library, or even a park.
Go with a partner—two teachers or a teacher and a support professional.
At the meeting:
Introductions. Have everyone explain his or her relationship to the student. Usually, the student is there.
Getting to know you. Find out whether the parents have other children in school. What’s been their experience in schools up until now?
Most important. The hopes and dreams conversation. Ask the parents about their dreams for their student, and share yours. You will probably discover you have much in common. “To stop and say why you do what you do—that can be very powerful for the teacher, not just the parent,” says Carrie Rose, who directs the Parent/Teacher Home Visit Project.
Expectations. Explain what you need from the parent, and ask what the parent would like you to do. (Often, parents ask how they can contact you.)
If possible, don’t come with papers and don’t take notes. Parents will feel you are evaluating them. If you must deliver information, like the bell schedule or graduation requirements, don’t pull out any paper for at least 20 minutes.
The typical meeting lasts 30 to 45 minutes.
Some home visit programs do deal with academics, but many teachers say the most productive visits just focus on building relationships.
Two teachers’ best and worst home visits
Nancy Fong, elementary school teacher
Worst: “When we started, home visits were not part of the culture, and some parents would not let us come to the home. One mom had a lot of problems, including drugs. She had had her kids taken away before. She reluctantly agreed to meet at a McDonald’s, but she would not open up.
“Her children had poor attendance, and we were trying to impress on her that she needed to get them to school on time. Her answers were curt. The whole meeting was over in 10 or 15 minutes.
Nancy Fong and colleague Cory Jones meet the family at home.
“But by the next year, people were inviting us into their homes. They understood we were not trying to butt into their business, but asking them to help us.”
Best: “Another one of my first visits was to a very angry African-American mom who felt we were picking on her son. My partner in the home visits, Cory Jones, is African-American, and he took the lead. I could see her defensiveness melt away.
“The boy was very distractible and used to drum on his desk with a pencil, disrupting our teaching. It turned out he had a drum set at home that was broken. Cory got someone to fix it. That mom went on to become one of our parent leaders and started a Boy Scout troop at school. The boy is 15 now, but he and his mom both come back to see us.”
Teresa Cummings, high school math teacher
Worst: “An uncle opened the door. Mom was in bed and refused to get up, even though we had arranged the visit by phone. We didn’t make it into the home. That one was not so hot.”
Best: “We met with the mom and grandma of a kid who had been arrested for armed robbery and had failed the
California high school exit exam. We gave them information about tutoring and other resources available on our campus. The grandma was so thankful somebody cared about her grandson!
“Before, teachers would call home to say, ‘Your grandson is acting up’ or ‘He’s been suspended.’ This was the first time teachers had come and believed in her grandson. We said, ‘We’re here to help you graduate!’
“She was almost in tears, she was so happy. And he did graduate. He was a good kid. He was just running with the wrong crowd, trying to be cool.”
On a scale from 1 to 10, with their worst visit as 1 and their best a 10, Fong and Cummings say their average visit is about an 8.
“It’s not a magic bullet,” says Cummings. “But it is one way teachers can show they actually care about the student.
“When you step out of your comfort zone and show you care, kids are motivated to learn and parents are motivated to help.”
A Parent’s Story.
One day in the spring of 1996, Yesenia Gonzalez, newly arrived in Sacramento, walked into the front office at the elementary school where her five children were students. She wanted to get involved.
Half an hour later, she was still sitting there. No one had said a word to her.
Finally she got someone’s attention and explained why she had come. The staff person took her number and said someone would call. No one did.
Several weeks later, Gonzalez came back and sat even longer. At last she got up to leave and started cursing in Spanish.
From that inauspicious beginning grew a home-visit program that is a model of teacher-parent appreciation and collaboration.
At that moment, the vice principal, who spoke Spanish, came out of her office and asked Gonzalez what she was upset about. They talked, and the vice principal began to introduce Gonzalez to the school. Together with two other like-minded parents, Gonzalez began working for more parent and community involvement at the school. But they were met a lot of resistance. Soon the media dubbed them “the three angry moms.”
“Teachers were blaming parents, parents were blaming teachers, there was a lot of blame and a lot of hurt,” Gonzalez recalls.
Then the parents met Sacramento ACT, an interfaith community organizing group, and they started exploring home visits as a way to bridge the chasm between parents and their children’s teachers. Some teachers, they discovered, were already visiting parents at home and these teachers felt that the parent support that developed at those conversations helped them tremendously in the classroom.
So the parents, several teachers, and representatives of ACT went to the Sacramento City Teachers Association and together they worked out a proposal for a home visit program. The union wanted to be sure educators would be paid for their extra work, and that the whole program would be voluntary—the parents supported both.
Then parents and teachers approached the school superintendent. As Gonzalez recalls, the superintendent told them the union would never agree. He was wrong, they informed him. The union was already on board. He was still reluctant. But the group persuaded the superintendent to try some home visits himself. According to Gonzalez, that’s what won the day: “He said, ‘I get it. I see the power of this.’” And with $100,000 in district funds, the home visit program was born in Sacramento.
One of the best things I did as a teacher for 16 years was to visit all the homes of my students. The special time helped me know and understand the students and the building of relationship with the parents was the best.
09/30/09 - Sandra
Do not question my choice of profession. Are you open to my judgment of you? I am a teacher because I am passionate about teaching. My goals for my students are personal responsibilty, organization, and content knowledge, in that order. I am not a psychologist. I am not my students' friend, nor their parent. However, we have a great rapport as teacher-pupil precisely because I am not part of their personal lives. In my classroom, I ask them to be the best students they can be, and yes, sometimes that means leaving their issues at the door. I can't solve those problems, but I can help them find the best part of themselves. I am their mentor as they open their minds to kowledge - some knowledge that I impart, and some knowledge that I teach them how to access as lifelong learners. I am a trained and experienced teacher. I use effective classroom management techniques to maintain an environment of learning. I am available any time I am in the building (including my lunch and prep time) to all students who need help, primarily regarding organization. I will meet with any parent who calls, e-mails, or visits, and I contact them when a student requires additional support at home. I do not visit their homes, and they do not visit mine.
09/29/09 - Too Critical
We really must learn not to be so critical. Mary you misspelled "teachers" :-/...Not cool. If the profession is to go anywhere we must first be unified before we can expect to make a real difference or see real change.
09/28/09 - Mary
It is interesting to me that in the first two comments, the tachers both spelled THERE incorrectly. I hope they don't teach the subject !
09/28/09 - concerned
I usually don't respond on blogs, sites, etc but I couldn't resist after reading the post by Sandra. I can't help but wonder why in heaven's sake someone like "Sandra" has dared to enter this field. Teaching IS indeed a calling. Our society does indeed continue to perish and the quality of life dwindles for lack of individuals with passion, vision, and knowledge. Yes being an educator is a lot of work, and yes educator's have an ever increasing load of responsibility on their shoulders, and despite our efforts sometimes it seems their is no impact or recognition. However, despite all the negatives, it is up to us professionally, as educated educators, to realize just how important we are!! To say that teaching is not a calling is an illustration of just how ignorant the one supposedly teaching is. Yes you maybe able to get the results, meet the benchmarks, etc., but this is not an indication of true education. To understand why teaching is calling you must first understand what it means to be called. We've come to use the word so loosely in society, and just expected to know what the word means, but before we speak let us make sure we have a thorough understanding of the words we choose. To be called is to have be urged to do something...if one is urged to do something they should be determined to do it well, at any expense. If we are sick of what we are seeing in parents not involved and so many other social ills we must be willing to be passionate and dedicated about educating our children!...and yes this is a lot of work...and yes it's a heavy cost with lots of sacrifices...and yes sometimes the balance seems a lot off...but the benefit of the costs to me seems worth it. I'm sure Obama and so many countless others are glad to have teachers that were not like "Sandra" but were passionate about their jobs and that passion rubbed off on the once impressionable children. Teachers should have a vision. A vision becomes a burden, which then pushes you daily to see that a change occurs! Remember the people do in fact perish for lack of vision and direction.
Gosh I wish there were some way to rid the system of "Sandras" but then again things have a way of working out :).
09/28/09 - Sandra
Where is parental responsibility for thir child's upbringing and education a part of the equation? I think the school system has become an enabler. We feed kids breakfast and lunch and we feed the whole family in the summer. There is a free after-school program, and free day camp in the summer. We give vision testing, group therapy, individual psychological counseling, and parenting classes. There is a classroom, and a separate school, for students who do not conduct themselves properly. Over 80% of the English language learners (in the junior high where I teach) were born in the United States, but no adult in the home thought learning English was important. Teachers are blamed for the failures of society because we have accepted responsibility for society's problems. Teaching is not a calling. It is my chosen profession, whereby I impart information to students in an interesting manner, and inspire them to be independent learners. Of course, my rapport with my students is a part of that, but I am not responsible for their problems at home.
09/27/09 - Maria Cabrera
This was a fantastic article. More about this should be printed. I do parents home visits and it's the greatest satisfation. In addition, I'm more sensitive to students' needs just by knowing their family life. Thank you for the Home Visit Article.
09/27/09 - Karen
I wish the district had the money again to pay us. But I find the time to reach my special education students. Understanding the home life help me to understand the child. There is no amount of money that can pay for that insight.
09/27/09 - Gloria
I agree with Dan and will go one step further than "I Want to Keep my job" with I WANT to KEEP my LIFE. We have had two shootings on our playground. Years ago I would drive students home,take them to the ice cream store and visit their families, not now. Parents will sue you and the violence is too high. The only way I would go to a students home today is with a police escourt or a loaded gun. Parents don't want to take the time to come to the school and see you, and they gave birth to these kids, but I should give up what little time I have, put my life at risk, and go see them. Teachers are not the answer to all of the ills of society. Parents need to step up and be in charge of the children they created.
09/27/09 - Debbie
We need to support each other, folks. There is no room for criticizing, or feeling threatened.
I agree that teachers need to be compensated for their time, and never required to do volunteer work. That being said, those who do, thank you for your spirit of volunteerism.
09/26/09 - Dan Gray
Home visits are impractical, unprofessional, and totally inappropriate. I have close to 200 students and I live 45 minutes away from the school and its population. I have my hands full dealing with the shortcomings of disfunctional parents from 8 to 3. Now you suggest that I directly intervene between the kids and their lousy parents at the kids' homes? Get real. No surprise that this is coming from Sacramento. I did my student teaching there and the schools were just terrible. I also received my teaching credential from Sac State and their program was equally awful.
09/26/09 - Leonard
I have always given parents in my room the option of allowing me a home visit if they have felt it would ease any nervousness the child might have about the new school year, and also about having a man as a teacher (I teach 1st grade). My wife and I have gone to many Little League games, dance recitals, etc. of my kids, especially those from broken homes or no grandparents (we are in our '50's and our own kids are grown). I feel that this "relational teaching" helps the parents, the kids, and me as their teacher.
09/26/09 - Andrea
About the "teacher in Dallas" ... the teacher was not in Dallas, but in the small rural city of Tyler, two hours east. He was a teacher specializing in behaviorally disturbed students, and his own wife said he was aware of the dangers of his environment and was not afraid, having worked as a prison guard.
I do agree with the teachers who argue they do not want to have these visits expected of them, and even the article says it only works when no one is forced to do it.
It's also worth noting that they recommend teams rather than going it alone, and that the visits are arranged, not drop-ins. I have safely done visits on my own outside these parameters, in crime- and gang-ridden areas of Dallas, and never come to harm. That doesn't mean I don't think that the method in the article is better, or that any of you who are NOT doing it are any less caring or professional than I.
One other method worth trying from time to time is a handwritten note, including sometimes writing to PRAISE a student who is doing well and/or who has improved. Again, for the teacher with 239 students, there's no way I think you could do this for more than a fraction of them, but hey, even if it's an encouraging note to the families of the best and worst 5%, that's 24 families with a whole different experience of their kids' teachers. (And if you're not sure of the family's literacy or English mastery, print rather than using cursive -- it will make it easier for them or whoever reads it to them.)
09/26/09 - RinaCon
I believe that home visitation can have a great impact on anon-compliant student and every student in general. But the visit should not be talking about compliance in school but mere to express rapport and show interest in caring for the student's academic performance and the family's support.
09/26/09 - Wants to keep my job
So, Bob in Maryland, you think my concerns for my personal safety and being with my family in the evenings are reasons why I should not be teaching? You probably think teachers should be tucked away in a closet at the end of the school day and brought out the next morning. When you, or your wife, teach in my school and teach my students (they come in without supplies, hungry, and wearing gang colors), then you can criticize me.
09/25/09 - SR
No way! My kids' teachers are not welcome at my house and I am never going to theirs. Same with giving out home phone numbers. They don't get mine. Talk to me when I'm "on the clock." I resent my personal info being accessible through computers, too! We all deserve out privacy. This used to be the USA.
09/25/09 - M Brubaker
At a former inner city Philadelphia school, and later in a private school, we would have afterschool and weekend practices for our mock trial team in the homes of the team members. Parents would be happy to have us, and I developed a great relationship with the parents and the children of my team.
09/25/09 - Laura
Our preschool program does a home or school visit at the beginning of the year (parents' choice but most choose the home). It helps shy kids to open up and feel more comfortable with the teacher before they even get into the classroom. It helps teachers establish a relationship before school starts ("remember when you showed me your cool Spiderman toy?") It puts parents at ease and lets teachers get a good sense of the home life their students are coming from.
09/25/09 - Colleen
About 3 years ago the kindergarten teachers were strongly "requested" to do home visits before school started, under the guise of promoting reading and giving away free books. The teachers are responsible for contacting the parents and setting up the schedule. I feel that this is an imposition on the parent and makes them uncomfortable. Meeting them at the school has always proven to be the better choice.
09/25/09 - Stephanie
I started doing home visits with my elementary class three years ago. I like to go just before school starts in August to get a sense of the kids and the families before the big day. It saddens me to read so many people's excuses for avoiding getting to know their students. No matter where you live or how many students you have, it is important to learn about the whole child in order to be an effective educator. For me, visiting the home is a nice touch that many families appreciate.
09/25/09 - Sandra
Last year I started implementing home visits and it was great! My school has a high level of low SES and English language learners so at first it was hard, but soon I had students asking me when I was going to go to their house, it made classroom management and student involvement so much better. I am not at that school anymore but I will continue to go to my students' homes.
09/25/09 - Pam
I'm a parent of a first grader. His teacher AND principal came together for a home visit. What a great experience. They came in the afternoon on the third day of the new school year. I immediately felt a shift in my son's attitude toward school. Being able to show his new teacher his Star Wars toys and our backyard chickens opened him up a bit. There was no agenda to the meeting other than getting to know each other. Never did I feel it was a social work call. Of course a high school teacher couldn't visit all his/her students, and it's not for everyone. From my perspective as a parent of a young child, however, it was a good move on the teacher's part.
09/25/09 - Sharon
You do have to be cautious. Yesterday a teacher in Dallas was stabbed to death in his classroom by a student "using a sharp object."
09/25/09 - Nancy
This year I have 239 students (without productivity). This is pretty normal for my school and students WITH productivity have many more! The thought of home visits for such a large number of students is overwhelming! Were I to visit all of them, it would consume my life outside of school.
09/25/09 - Rosemary
I do home visits with the preK families in our state prek at-risk program at the beginning of the year with a teaching assistant and 98% of the time the parents are so grateful that we have stopped by to explain about the program, answer their questions,help them fill out registration papers etc. We always take along a mini notebook and crayons for the preschooler to color while we talk to the parents. The parents really seem grateful and become more involved. We also learn more about the family and home learning environment. I just wish we had more time to do follow-up visits. But our state has determined that it is more important for 3 & 4 year olds to attend school 5 days a week than to attend 4 days with a day set aside for home visits.
09/25/09 - Felipe A
I teach in a Gang infested barrio in So. California. NO THANK YOU!!! I'll do the best I can for the six and a half hours and hope the streets around our school and the population we draw from don't eat'm up! Don't get me wrong, I love teaching here and wouldn't change for the world. HOME visits?? You can get shot or beat within an inch of your life in my neighborhood.
09/25/09 - Janis Carter
Each year the reading teacher and I visit all upcoming K students for the next year. We take a cloth bag with the school picture on it containing materials. These materials include: a hardback Mother Goose book, crayons, pencil, flashcards for colors, numbers, letters, ruler, coins, scissors, glue, shapes, cut and paste sheets, as well as pamplets and materials for the parents. We give them date for registration, physical form and birth certificate forms. It is very rewarding for us as well as parents and children. I like knowing where they live and it is a positive relationship for the parents. Our PTO helps fund this. We are the only elementary school in the county that does and have been for 15 years.
09/25/09 - DLP
I do home visits with my pre-K program at the beginning and end of the year. I think it is a wonderful way to establish a partnership and relationship between the teachers and parents. I would recommend the idea to anyone who is able to implement it.
09/25/09 - Debbi
It sounds like a great idea, but my life outside of my school commitments is already so busy, the thought of giving up even more time is tough. And I can't imagine my husband's reaction when he heard I would be spending even more time on "school stuff". If it was done right after school, I might be able to squeeze some in. I do think it is important that teachers not feel pressured to do this (which, I fear, they would be if this was a "school program" at their school) and if they were paid for their time. We do so much already for so little pay, many teachers will be upset if more is added to their already-full plates.
09/25/09 - Marcia
I think it is a great idea! Although there can sometimes be some unfortunate incidents, I feel the good certainly outweighs the bad. Students and parents need to know that teachers care, and this program would certainly be a way to show that concern for students. It might also help to eliminate some negative stereotypes.
09/25/09 - CeCe
Home visits with my students with special needs are invaluable in developing relationships with families to encourage them and see positive attributes in their children.
09/25/09 - Valerie Orrock
I'm opposed to home visits. I do not think it is appropriate for someone trained in instruction of content (though we all know we do more)to be acting as community diplomat or social worker. It devalues those people who actually ARE social workers or community outreach representatives and their training. It also hurts the teaching profession that is consistently found to be the entry point for remedies of society's complex challenges. By agreeing to do home visits, classroom teachers dillute their roles and blur their focus which I believe in the end hurts students.
09/24/09 - April
I love doing home visits with the parents of my special needs students. Parents are much more comfortable in their home environment and we are able to establish a working relationship. I benefit by seeing my students in their natural environment and can better accommodate some of their special needs in the classroom. I don't think home visits should be required as I know many teachers are not comfortable with them but I love them!
09/24/09 - Terry
As a behavioral specialist the home visits I made were some of the most positive interventions I came up with. If the area was dangerous I would buy the parent a cup of coffee nearby. Most parents want there children to succeed and by making them a part of the educational team I got cooperation from all facets in that childs life.
09/24/09 - Lauralyn
When I became a teacher in the 1980's, we were taught that to visit a student's home is an invasion of the family's privacy. We were told that the students and parents would lose respect for us if we became "just ordinary folks". We had to remain professional and aloof. Things have really changed. During the 2008-09 school year we had a grant that paid for teachers to go on home visits. We were encouraged to show that we are "just ordinary people" so that parents are not intimidated about talking to teachers. The grant also paid for a pizza party at a local restaurant and backpacks filled with school supplies to be taken along on home visits. Each teacher was allowed 3 backpacks. We were supposed to pick three middle of the road students (not the best or worst) and invite them to the pizza party. While eating pizza together, we set up a home visit. Then when I visited the home (taking another person for safety) I took along the backpack. After I visited the first home, word got out and everyone wanted me to visit their home. The low income parents appreciated the free supplies (binders, spiral notebooks, pencils, etc). I even saw former students at the pizza restaurant because a colleague had invited a younger sibling to the party.
09/24/09 - Steven
I had always wanted to try home visits, but no one in my district that I knew of ever tried it. My kids live in a very affluent area, but I think all kids need to know that their teacher sees them more than just a body in a chair. So I ventured on my own doing it myself calling parents and setting up times. More often than not I get a great dinner out of the deal and great conversation with the parents. I have thoroughly enjoyed my home visits and would recommend to most teachers. Start with the parents that are open to it and work your way through as many as you feel able that doesn't take away from your family time. Try it you'll like it!
09/24/09 - 2nd Grade Teacher
This summer our school did porch visits. We did them in the afternoon and let the parents know we were planning them when they enrolled their kids. It was up to them if they were home or not. We couldn't go to all of the homes but we went to more than half of them. It was interesting to learn where some of our kids lived. We did not spend much time at each house, only about 3 to 5 minutes and we took a goodie bag of pencils and erasers and a postcard inviting them to our Open House. We also had books for the enrolled students to choose from if they were home. If they weren't home, we left a door hanger saying we were sorry to have missed them and to please come to our Open House. I went with two others and we had a great time! Some of our teachers were very worried about their safety however. I think that before visits, the school should share with the teachers the crime statistics on the neighborhood. I live near the neighborhood that worried some of our teachers. I think that if they realized that the crime isn't as bad as they imagine, they wouldn't be so upset at having to do them. Our neighborhood does border the neighborhood with the highest crime rate in our city, but the dividing road makes a huge difference in the crime rate. Also, finding out what type of crime a neighborhood has can alleviate worries. Most likely the crime is not the kind that would occur in the afternoon. Most of the feedback from parents and teachers was positive.
09/24/09 - Bobby, again
Oh... as I HS teacher I taught 5 sections. The higher the % of parent attendance per class for Open House directly correlated with that class having a higher class average. Parent attendance and a particular class average went hand in hand.
09/24/09 - Bobby
Like the article says, "No one should be forced to make visits. You need 50% of the faculty on board with the program. Teachers should go in a minimal grouping of two."
Telling another teacher that he or she "shouldn't have a job" because the teacher rightly feared for his/her safety was out of line and unprofessional. We shouldn't attack individuals that way.
Before our school system had "Educall," a system for mass dialing parents about events such as "Open House" or "Back-to-School-Night," I used to call all of my parents to invite them to that activity.
When I did call and issued a personal invitation, 55% showed up. When I didn't call, 33% showed up. I was hoping that 85% would show up--especially after a personal phone call with a personal invitation. It's interesting to see how society and parents have changed over the years.
I'm a veteran teacher of 36 years. When people asked me, "Haven't kids changed?" I say "no." Think about it. How you "make babies," and how they come into the world hasn't changed. It's what you do after they arrive. That's the big difference that I see. Kids are kids. Adults have changed.
If 50% of my faculty were interested in home visits, sure.... I'd jump on the bandwagon and do it.
09/24/09 - M. Flowers-Schoen
Although I am an art teacher and it is hard to visit all 630 students, I have visited several families each year. Students and parents never forget and are your best allies from that visit on. Most visits are pleasant and very community building, but a few times either the family failed to be home, or tried to create a shock by coming to the door in their underwear. I always take a partner and sometimes take the partners' kids come with us.
09/24/09 - preschool teacher
ditto on what Phyllis shared. These small friends already know someone in there class. One of our teachers takes it a step further, she does a just because home visit. Parents sign up for a time and day and take it from there. I myself get invited to home birthday parties, I have attended a few. students come back school sharing how fun it was for there teacher being at their party.
But it shouldn't stop there, no matter how old or what grade the child is in, both parents and child apprieciate the time that you took away from yourself to share with him/her.
09/24/09 - Stacy Zeiger
I know as teachers many of us already have full plates, but I would love to be allowed to do home visits. So many times I go to make positive and negative phone calls only to be met with disconnected numbers. All I want is to have parents and I working together in their child's best interest - allowing for neutral territory seems like a positive starting point.
09/24/09 - Jeanie-Oklahoma
I am a retired teacher of 23 years. The first few years I taught I made home visits. I loved it! I got to know the parents and also where the child was coming from. The third year I began my visits the principal called me into her office.(She had been a teacher many more years than I had.) She told me I was not to make anymore home visits! It was too dangerous and the school would not support me in this! I asked her why and she said just because! I never made another home visit. What a shame! I do like the idea of going two at a time.
09/24/09 - Kristina
Bob in Maryland, You have got to be kidding. There are areas in my district that would get a middle aged white woman killed. I love my job and have been teacher of the year at my school. But I totally agree with "want to keep my job" I am a single mom and can not leave my children to visit the homes of other's. My doctor doesnt do home visits, nor does my banker. Why would teachers need to do home visits? Don't get me wrong, I have lived in an area that I could visit the homes if I wanted and did on one occation. It was strange and awkward and yes a little scary. It should never be required.
09/24/09 - Yvita
I think it is a great idea! How much are they going to pay me for my time? Will we get gas money?
09/24/09 - Kristina
We have areas in our district that would be out right dangerous for a teacher to enter. I don't think this is a good idea for all schools.
09/24/09 - Bob in Maryland
Dear "Wants to keep my job",
Your comments are a perfect example of why you shouldn't have your job!
09/24/09 - Beth
Not only do I think it is a great idea, I think it is necessary. Some parents can't/won't come to the school. I do several home visits a week and have positive results! I teach in a rural area now, but I also did visits when I lived in a big city and taught inner-city kids. I think that we do this because we want what is best for our kids, and if this is best, we need to do it.
09/24/09 - Carolyn
A home visit conducted by a middle school teacher in WI gave us information needed to transfer his older brother into a school that met his needs.
09/24/09 - Wants to keep my job
Whereas all of you think this is a wonderful idea, I know of many who will be opposed and I stand with them. Gone are the days where the school served a stable community and everyone knew everyone else. And this certainly isn't 50 years ago. Today, with transient families and security issues, there is no reason for a home visit. The parents can come to the school. What will be served when a teacher is killed during a home visit? What about the teacher's own family? "Sorry, can't help you with your homework or cook supper because I have home visits to do." What about the lives of our children? Before everyone jumps on this bandwagon, stop and think. If my district opts for home visits, it will find itself short several teachers.
09/24/09 - Louanne Jozwiak
I found that teaching in a little fledgling pre-school program for Hispanic 4-year-olds in Waukesha in 1966 that home visits were an invaluable way to connect with families. Children were excited to say "you came to my house!" parents liked being on their turf. and teachers could have a better sense of the child's environment. I continued with that model when I developed a Title I program for 4s in the Waukesha,WI school district in 1974. The connection with families was incredible, as trust was established between home and school. Parents who were initially reluctant to come to school or participate in school activities became more comfortable in that environment and we were able to work together to solve problems.
09/24/09 - Peggy Kreuzenstein
What has taken this country so long to get on board? I am 75 yrs. old and in 1947 & 1948 when I was 13 & 14 yrs. old our Home Economics (yes, they taught it then) visited my mother and me in our home(in PA) with just the approach you describe as the origins of the program in Sacramento.
The visit made an impressionable impact for all three of us, teacher, mother, and me. How did this practice ever fall by the wayside?
09/24/09 - Andrea Brannam
I have been visiting the homes of my students for the last 4 years. Last year I wrote my Master's Thesis Project on the impact of Home Visits in Elementary school. The findings were incredible. Home visits contributed to increased motivation, stronger classroom community, stronger home-school connections, and even impacted academic achievement. Home visits are a very important priority for my teaching! I encourage every teacher to give them a try! The effort and time is worth it!
09/24/09 - Ruth Kirk
Best thing I ever did to get to really know my students. I was at a high school alternative setting where students were serving long term suspensions. Home visits opened my eyes to student situations and they knew I cared when I made the effort to come to their homes. Some were embarrassed at first, but it was up to me to make them know I was comfortable.
09/24/09 - Phyllis Parks R obinson
As long as security is taken into consideration, I say go and take a partner with you. There is nothing better than a home visit to provide you with a needed insight into what your student and the family is dealing with.
HEADSTART has been doing this for more than 40 years and has found this tool to be very effective in establishing relationships.
07/31/09 - Thomas Greene
I think this is a wonderful concept that gives teachers the opportunity to attach a face/smile with their name in place of a grade or progress report comment. It allows for the human touch and accomodating parents far beyond their previous expectations. This fosters a strong bond upon which to build whether the child is exceling or struggling. I'm so excited about the homevisit notion that I want to visit parents tomorrow but I'll have to wait until September. (it's 07/31/09) Tommie Greene Math Teacher (NJ)
How to Get Parents to Help with Classroom Management
Teacher of the Year Tony Mullen tells NEA President Dennis Van Roekel how you can get parents to help with classroom management.
Sometimes it’s hard to get the help you need from parents in getting their children motivated and ready to learn—especially when the parents didn’t go to school themselves or had a bad time of it.
