my visit with Ms. Dunlap

Ms. Dunlap and I went on a home visit a couple weeks back to visit one of her third grade students. We were both very honored by the reception we received. A large number of family members had gathered to receive us including the Grandfather, Mother, Uncles, brother and some of her cousins. The family made us feel very welcome, offering us a refreshment and inviting us to look at lots of wonderful pictures from the family photo album. Many of the family members only spoke Spanish so I was glad to be able to serve as an interpreter.

We spoke about a lot of things including life in their native country, how much Ms. Dunlap's visit meant to them and the importance of the school and home working together to support a students education. Ms. Dunlap also shared some of her family history and how she grew up in Pennsylvania. She told the family about how much she liked being a teacher and that she enjoyed this years class a lot. The family was very engaging and glad to hear how well their daughter was doing. They were just as excited to hear that she was a model citizen.
Before we left, Ms. Dunlap's student invited her to the backyard where she picked some beautiful flowers for her to take home .

The home visit was an amazing experience and everyone expressed their hope for the visits to continue into the next school year. I am glad that I was able to accompany Ms. Dunlap and appreciate her invitation.

Grant Awarded to the THVP

Piney Branch’s PTA was awarded a $2,000 grant by the Takoma Foundation to support the Teacher Home Visit Project. The Takoma Foundation raises local money to fund local organizations that make the community a better place to live, work and play. The grant was presented at the Foundation’s recent Azalea Awards. The picture above shows Piney Branch principal Bertram Generlette and PTA co-presidents Kate Kelliher and Adrienne Tilton holding the actual check!

The grant will be used to support the THVP in a variety of ways including providing on-going technical assistance to teachers as they work to strengthen relationships with families through home visits.

A big THANK YOU to the Takoma Foundation for all its work in recognizing neighborhood heroes, promoting community unity, and especially for providing financial assistance to the Teacher Home Visit Project!