Nevada ranks last in the percentage of 18-24 year olds who are high school graduates. -US Census Bureau, 2005 American Community*

Of 100 high school freshman in Nevada, only 10 will earn a college degree within 10 years. -Student Pipeline-Transition and Completion Rates from 9th Grade to College**

George Hardaway, Retired Educator, on Parent Teacher Home Visits

"When I began teaching I was dealing with kids with deficiencies, kids with no basic skills. There was a disconnect between the school and the students who were dealing with difficult home situations. I felt the need, the responsibility, to do something so I began making home visits to open up communication. All understanding begins with communication.

 I know the importance of building relationships with students because when I was younger I had mentors, teachers, and tutors who were committed to my education, and that inspired me to do what I'm doing today. We all have a calling, a purpose, and when I look back on my career I know mine was to teach. I began teaching at Hug High School in 1971. I spent over 20 years in the classroom and probably did home visits with over 230 parents.

The bottom line of Parent Teacher Home Visits is to build long-lasting, positive relationships. The parents are going to accept you knowing you are making an effort to open up dialogue and establish understanding. In building a relationship based on trust, respect, and appreciation, we are able to join together and commit to making sure their child doesn't fall through the cracks.

Once a reciprocal relationship is built, the student's confidence and behavior improves. The bar is set higher for what is expected and the students begin to take their work more seriously. Assignments are turned in on time. Attendance is improved.

Eventually, other teachers saw what I was doing, and how well the students were responding. As a result, two other teachers began doing home visits.

Parent Teacher Home Visits helped parents and students realize that I truly cared. The students and parents are assured that I was really interested and motivated to see them succeed."

*http://www.nvpef.org/research.php

**http://www.higheredinfo.org/dbrowser/index.php?submeasure=119&year=2008&level=nation&mode=data&state=0

Suzanne Browser, Veterans Elementary School

"When you laugh and cry with parents of our students it builds a bond beyond what you can do at school. I am a raving fan of home visits as I have seen the results firsthand. Experiencing home visits has really changed me.

I did a home visit with a mother who crawled across the desert to the U.S. on her knees when she was 7 months pregnant to find a better life for her and her children.  I was the first person she told. I felt so honored to have her share her story, and I was honoring her by my presence in her home.

At first this mother was shy and reluctant to come to the school.  Her child was having emotional and learning difficulties. Now mom visits the school all the time. Her daughter has blossomed. They know I care.

Doing home visits has been an awakening for me. I used to think that Latino families didn't value education. I was so wrong. During the home visits I ask, 'What are your hopes and dreams for your child.' Every single one has said, 'To finish school, to have a better life than I have.'

My children knew from the time they were born that they would go to college. These families just need to be shown what is possible for their children too.

I had an opening to add a home visit last week. I called a family without much advance notice to try to schedule it. She said, 'Sure come on over.' When I arrived, she had breakfast ready for me!

The families are ready for us to know them. We just need to take the first step."

"I wish that their teachers had reached out to their mother and me and showed us how we could have made a difference in their education."

Hello. I am Barbara Rowell, a member of First Congregational Church, and I want to make a difference in changing the future for more of our children in Northern Nevada.

But I have to tell you, it is hard to share this story. It is hard, because I keep asking myself if I could have changed the outcomes. It is my hope that by my sharing this personal story, we can change the story for other children in our community. 

I am a loving grandmother of 10 young adults. They are all so bright and it is a pleasure for me to spend time with them. Five of these smart youngsters live in other places-Missouri, California and Las Vegas. Each of those graduated high school with honors and is on their way to a successful future. All 5 are now in college or other continuing education and on the path to a successful future. One has already bought a house. 

Then there are the 5 who live here in Reno. These 5 are also so bright and full of potential, not on drugs or in trouble with the law. But each of these young people has dropped out of high school in their senior year. When I ask myself what happened to the 5 local grandchildren, I see a pattern that was established by the oldest brother, that the 4 younger ones copied. I know that their friends also dropped out of high school as well. 

For these 5, it just seemed normal to leave high school without graduating. Each of them started to fall behind with credits in freshman year. Yet, they were all passed on to the next grade. But when each got to be a senior, they just gave up hope of catching up and left school. 

I wish that their teachers had reached out to their mother and me and showed us how we could have made a difference in their education. I know that their once so great prospects will be seriously limited by their forfeited education. 

I have seen the data that the difference in lifetime salary for a dropout and a high school graduate is about $300,000. But what probably hurts the most, is knowing that these bright young people could have made a big difference in our community and our world that will now be limited by their educational attainment.

Let's not let this happen to other young people in our community. Please join with me and get involved with ACTIONN. 

"...this experience has changed me forever and has changed the progress of my students in ways I didn't see before."

I’m Ken Rackley, with St Catherine Episcopal. I was teaching computers when a school principal encouraged me to go back to college to become a teacher. While studying education, a professor emphasized the importance of connecting to the life of the child outside the classroom, so the child knows you care.

I became a believer in relationship building with my students. The relationship is the key. But it needs to be a 2 way street, not where I stay in my bubble and I ask you to be vulnerable.

Five years ago, while teaching at Kate Smith Elementary I had the opportunity to go to Sacramento to learn about the Parent Teacher Home Visit Project.

I learned how Parent/ Teacher home visits build empathy between the teacher and family. I saw how transformative it can for the child’s achievement in the classroom.

So I came back and started doing home visits with each of my students. I have to tell you, that this experience has changed me forever and has changed the progress of my students in ways I didn’t see before.

One of those is a 2^nd grader who I’ll call Jamey. He was reading way below grade level when I first met him. When I made a home visit and met his family, his father told me how in the previous school year Jamey felt like a failure in reading. The parents even felt like their 6 year old was a failure.

Then Jamey showed me what he was building with Legos. What I saw was a boy with extraordinary spatial and mathematical reasoning abilities who was able to create cities and creatures without reading the directions! I could see the whole picture of this child and I understood better where he could thrive and how I could help him succeed.

I was able to share my perspective of Jamey’s amazing abilities with his parents and see their pride in him grow. I was able to boost Jamey’s confidence and this carried through into the classroom. He became a coach to his peers in math and he worked hard to become a better reader. His motivation grew and his parents helped. He grew more and more excited to show me his progress. He knew, and his parents knew, that I cared.