This is the program I am most dedicated to right now. Below is a brief overview of HOME WORKS!, but you can learn all about it at www.teacherhomevisit.org.
What: A Program Facilitates Teacher Home Visits
HOME WORKS! The Teacher Home Visit Program is designed to foster parent engagement in their child’s education to improve the academic and social lives of our students. The program trains, supports, and pays teachers to visit the homes of their students to build trust and forge relationships with their students’ families at all stages of the child’s academic career. Participating districts have posted improvements in the following critical areas:
- Academic achievement
- Daily attendance
- Discipline and classroom behavior
- Parental/guardian and teacher engagement
Why: Engaged Parents and Families Drive Academic Achievement
Students do better academically and socially when their parents and teachers work together, and when parents read, talk, and listen to their children from birth, according to educational studies. Many teachers and administrators consider parent engagement to be of vital importance and are often unsure how to facilitate these important connections. Since 2008, HOME WORKS! has helped forge these valuable relationships to create a foundation that helps improve student performance, as well as enjoy a more meaningful and productive educational experience.
How
HOME WORKS! is a comprehensive program that provides the training and structure teachers need to initiate and promote productive, long-term relationships with the parents and families of their students.
- Teacher Training Sessions – The program conducts mandatory training sessions for teachers on making effective home visits. Training sessions address matters relating to relationship-building with the parents and families, information-sharing about the child’s academic performance, and engaging the parent in the child’s scholastic and social development.
- Home Visits – Teachers, in pairs, visit homes once or twice a year. The initial visit is designed to build the relationship between the parents and families and teachers and to talk about the importance of reading and attending school every day. The second home visit provides information on the child’s academic standing and offers parents important tools – like flash cards, books, and educational games – to boost scholastic performance.
- Family Dinners at School – The first family dinner occurs early in the school year to bring teachers, parents and families, students, and administrators together to deepen personal relationships. A second dinner offers parents tools and ideas for what must be done in the home to promote academic rigor and achievement.