Ms. Kamaria Osayande

Ms. Kamaria Osayande is a Kindergarten teacher at Peavine Elementary School

“To begin a great school year, I always ask myself this question. What can I do to establish an influential relationship with my students to help them be successful learners?  And the answer is the same from year to year.  Focus on building positive relationships with my students and their parents.  There are two sides to teaching—the academic side and the people side.  Parent Teacher Home Visits provide you with the opportunity to engage parents in their children educational process.

My experience with Parent Teacher Home Visits has been positive for the most part, some parents are hesitant to agree to a scheduled home visit, because of a lack of trust regarding the personal relationship we may have at the time.  I’m a demanding teacher and I don’t except excuses from my students or their parents.  I’ve had parents to dislike me and my teaching methods and because of our Parent Teacher Home Visits program, understanding and appreciation becomes the focus in the relationship.  So their attitudes change with invested time in this process.

Our Parent Teacher Home Visits program has helped me to establish a lasting relationship with my students and their parents.  And there’s one reality that none of us can afford to ignore:  Students are more cooperative and perform at higher levels when they have a good relationship with their teacher.”

  

Helen Housby first grade teacher/ warrior at Katherine Dunn Elementary School, Sparks, Nevada

Helen Housby first grade teacher/ warrior at 

Katherine Dunn Elementary School, Sparks, Nevada

“My first experience with Parent Teacher Home Visits occurred about twenty years ago.  Katherine Dunn Elementary School was considered a middle class, neighborhood school back in those days, and I was a middle class white female teacher trying to understand why some of my students had poor attendance. We were trying to motivate the parents to get their children to school on time. Parent Teacher Home Visits had not been part of the school’s culture.

I met with a mom and her three kids who were students in my class.  They lived in the Marina Gardens apartments on Howard Drive, which were considered ‘low income’ apartments. This visit had a profound impact on my teaching career.

The circumstances that the family lived with were difficult, yet I found that the family did care about their children’s future. They were not living in the kind of order I was used to, but they cared. I learned to change my assumptions and grow as a person.

I learned to alter my teaching methods to meet the needs of my students. I found resources for connecting the families to other needed services, because I saw firsthand what those needs were.

By building a relationship with the families, I began to see improvement in the students’ attendance and I knew I was on the right track. I am a firm believer in Parent Teacher Home Visits.”

Hug High School Advocate, Scott Barclay, for Parent Teacher Home Visits

Scott Barclay, Hug High School Advocate for Parent Teacher Home Visits

I've been doing home visits with parents for 2 years now, after our principal suggested that we do them to build relationships with families, and not for the reasons that we had done them in the past (truancy and grade problems.)

I randomly chose parents who I didn't know yet, and found that I had to tell them right away when scheduling the appointment that their child wasn't in trouble.

One family was a single mom with four kids, with the oldest sister missing school because she had to watch the younger ones while the mom looked for work. I was not judging, but developed a connection to the mom. Here I was, a big white guy with this tiny Latino woman, in her house. But my positive attitude and her welcoming helped bridge our differences.

The mom knew I cared and she found me trustworthy enough to tell me about their struggles, including those concerning immigration, and not be scared. I became a resource to the family. Now, the child is doing really well in school and is college bound. The mom even initiates conversation and calls me regularly for advice or with questions. I feel like she thinks of me as part of her family.

What a gift these families are giving me to let me enter their homes and share their lives. When I visit, many feed me and I show my willingness to try what they offer. Being open to what they say and share is then interpreted as the school caring about them. What a difference it make for them, their child, and for me!

Learn more about  Parent Teacher Home Visits: http://engagingparentsinschool.edublogs.org/2011/10/10/the-best-resources-for-learning-about-teacher-home-visits/

Crystal Goodwin, A Champion for Parent Teacher Home Visits

I have worked with the English as a Second Language (ESL) program at Robert Mitchell Elementary School for the past three years, and incorporating the Parent Teacher Home Visits program has been a huge success.  The key to the success is from developing trust and respect in building lasting relationships with the families.  

Doing home visits has given me awareness and an understanding of the problems that families face in their everyday lives.  After visiting one family from the Philippine Islands, I learned that two of my students are living with their father and grandparents.  The student’s mother is still living in the Philippines. 

The Parent Teacher Home Visits program at Robert Mitchell Elementary School has resulted in a strong partnership with parents and grandparents, improved student attendance and better grades and better student attitudes.

Parents become empowered and excited about teaming with teachers and staff members to help their children to be successful in the classroom in a myriad of ways.  And the children are excited when you let them know that you have scheduled a visit with their parents in their homes, especially when they realize it is not because they are in trouble.