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Teacher Home Visits: The Wave of the Future?
posted by: Alana | April 27, 2016, 07:36 PM   

 

Teachers and administrators know it’s not just the time spent in the classroom that counts but the social and emotional learning that takes place at home and outside the classroom, too.

 

Referred to by many as “the missing link” in education, national education research overwhelmingly supports the finding that students do better academically and socially when parents and teachers work together and children show up at school ready to learn.

 

Educators go to great lengths to incorporate effective parent and family engagement strategies throughout the year in an effort to connect with parents/families/guardians. They capitalize on back-to-school nights and interactive homework opportunities to campaign for parental involvement in the classroom and they’ve perfected the art of informing parents of their child’s progress in school.

 

However, for some students, it just isn’t enough and educators are experimenting with additional tactics. One strategy that more and more schools are turning to is the teacher home visit.

Teachers at Montessori schools, Head Start, and even some public charter school networks like KIPP are already making teacher home visits a regular part of their routine. Teacher home visits are said to result in increased rates of attendance and test scores as well as decreased rates of vandalism and suspension/expulsion rates.

In fact, due to increasing popularity, the Flamboyan Foundation in Washington, D.C. has been training and paying educators to visit their students’ homes as a way to provide additional support to their most in-need students.

 

Home visits are ultimately a simple concept but one that more and more schools are embracing as a way to overcome challenges in the classroom. Check out some of the lessons we can learn from seasoned home visit teachers about making teacher home visits work for YOUR students:

  1. NEVER go on a home visit alone.
  2. Remember, you’re the expert in teaching, but families are 100% experts in their children.
  3. We have expectations of what parents are supposed to do, but don’t forget about what they need for US to do.
  4. Home visits should not be about academics or failures but about building a relationship and learning how to leverage a child’s interests in order to engage them in true learning.
  5. Ask questions.
  6. Share with families the single biggest expectation or goal you wish to see the child focus on.
  7. Invite parents to attend a specific school function.


Home visits aren’t the only possible solution for a struggling student and may not be possible based on your school or district’s policy. These meetings are just one more way our nation’s educators are going beyond the call of duty in service of students.

 

If you’re interested in conducting a home visit, make sure to discuss your school or district’s policy with your administrator. And if you’re an educator whose school actively engages in the practice of teacher home visits, make sure you’re protected with professional liability insurance with AAE.


Have you ever conducted a teacher home visit? We want to know about it.
Tell us about your experience in the comments below!

 

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