Today marked the official kick-off of the Teacher Home Visit Project at Piney Branch Elementary School. The goals of the project are so simple, but at the same time really revolutionary.
Teachers at this Takoma Park, MD elementary school are experimenting with the idea of visiting parents at home, not with the purpose of doing any assessments or interventions, but solely to build relationships. Teachers and administrators at this school really do believe that parents and teachers are co-educators and that kids do best when the two work together. But, how best to do that? By creating genuine connections of trust and respect.
Teachers met today to exchange ideas about the best ways to engage parents and ensure successful home visits. I felt privileged to be a part of the conversation. I work for Impact Silver Spring, a non-profit that is partnering with the school to rollout the project. My organization works to promote thriving multicultural communities. This type of project is right up our alley given that Piney Branch is a school blessed with a great deal of student diversity. Impact will be providing technical and financial support to the project.
Teachers will start making visits soon and will be blogging about their experiences. Parents will also be invited to post.
I believe that, in addition to all of the other great things happening at this school, the Teacher Home Visit Project will act to further break down barriers that hinder authentic and resolute parent/teacher partnerships. Stay tuned to see what happens!
Teachers at this Takoma Park, MD elementary school are experimenting with the idea of visiting parents at home, not with the purpose of doing any assessments or interventions, but solely to build relationships. Teachers and administrators at this school really do believe that parents and teachers are co-educators and that kids do best when the two work together. But, how best to do that? By creating genuine connections of trust and respect.
Teachers met today to exchange ideas about the best ways to engage parents and ensure successful home visits. I felt privileged to be a part of the conversation. I work for Impact Silver Spring, a non-profit that is partnering with the school to rollout the project. My organization works to promote thriving multicultural communities. This type of project is right up our alley given that Piney Branch is a school blessed with a great deal of student diversity. Impact will be providing technical and financial support to the project.
Teachers will start making visits soon and will be blogging about their experiences. Parents will also be invited to post.
I believe that, in addition to all of the other great things happening at this school, the Teacher Home Visit Project will act to further break down barriers that hinder authentic and resolute parent/teacher partnerships. Stay tuned to see what happens!
I am incredibly excited about the kick off of the teacher home visits and want to send a shout out to Lanita and Kristen for facilitating the training as well as to all the wonderful teachers who are participating in the home visits. I hope that everyone will help contribute to the blog and bring to life the wonderful stories that will unfold as we embark on building a stronger school & community partnership.
ReplyDeleteRay Moreno