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January 2009
QUALITY EDUCATION FOR ALL:
Innovations with our Parent Teacher Home Visit Programs
Research shows that a strong connection between home and school can lead to increased academic performance, a boost in attendance, and improved behavior. At many low-income schools around Sacramento, however, strong relationships with parents are often lacking. That’s why Sacramento ACT continues to develop its innovative Parent Teacher Home Visit project in new directions.
This summer, a pilot project is underway at Hiram Johnson and Luther Burbank High Schools that aims to provide extra support to the families of students who have failed the California High School Exit Exam for the first time. About 200 Sophomores at each school did not pass either one or both the English or Math portions of the exam. ACT is leading the effort to assemble teams of teachers and other school support staff at each school that will be visiting with these students and their parents over the summer.
Home Visit teams have been trained to answer parents questions about the Exit Exam and provide them with resources and avenues of support, including summer school enrollment and other after school academic opportunities. Above all else, though, these interactions are made to be relational. “It’s important to end the cycle of blame,” Carrie Rose, the Project’s director says. “Once parents and teachers begin to talk and be familiar with each other, its amazing what bridges that can create.”
At ACT’s May 22 STAND TOGETHER event, Sac City Unified committed to $100,000 of new funding to fuel the CAHSEE project. By August and September, ACT will begin to assess the success of the pilot project and expand it to include other high schools and even some middle schools; students begin to show signs of being at risk of dropping out of high school well before they enter 10th grade.
With a strong bond between schools and families, our communities will be much better equipped to realize the dreams that parents have for their students. This creative approach is helping provide the glue.
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