Making a Big Difference ~ Koni Fujiwara, Teacher

    6^th year teacher at Greenbrae Elementary School, Koni Fujiwara, describes a touching story where Parent Teacher Home Visits have made a tipping point big difference in connecting to her students.

   “I have a student whose behavior and attention was inconsistent in the classroom and even at recess. There were some days when she would have obvious difficulties that seemed unrelated to what was going on at school. She would have days when she was ‘off’ from beginning to end.  I could guess that something was up at home but she never told me about it. She just wouldn’t focus on the lesson or get into a little trouble at recess. I knew her family and I knew some of their circumstances.

   Then I did a Parent Teacher Home Visit and discovered that she has a sibling with serious health problems. My student’s inconsistent behavior was directly connected to her sibling’s situation. From the visit, the student felt, in a way she hadn’t previously, that I really care about her. She doesn’t feel like she has to hide her challenges anymore. Now she tells me exactly what is going on and it gives her a way to gather support. She never did that before the home visit. And her motivation to work harder in the classroom has grown as a result.

   For every single student whose family I have visited it has made a big difference. It is so apparent that they know that I really care about them. They come every day and see me in the classroom but taking that one little step to visit their home and family, that makes a big difference to a little kid.”

Supporter of Parent Teacher Home Visits:Greenbrae Elementary Teacher, Heide Kerr

 “Many of my students live in the same apartment complex near the school. I’ve visited several families there with Parent Teacher Home Visits.

At the beginning of the year we were studying world cultures and holidays in class. Students kept saying, ‘We celebrate Las Posadas at our apartment complex.’

The next time I did a Parent Teacher Home Visit, I heard more about Las Posadas and was invited to the event. We met in an apartment and first they said the rosary in Spanish. We sang Las Posadas songs and had a party where they invited me to eat with them.  I learned a lot about their culture and the holiday. At first I didn't realize that the event  went on for nine nights! I wish I could have gone to more of the nights, but I couldn't fit it into my schedule.

About a month later, a student whose family I visited with a Parent Teacher Home Visit had an incident on the playground. In the past when this type of thing happened, the parents would call me and yell, ‘How could you let this happen?' in an angry manner. This time the parents said, ‘We know how busy you are and I just want to let you know what happened on the playground.’ I was able to have an actual conversation with the parents. What a difference!"

Bridging Gaps: Celeste Willis, Teacher 

   First grade teacher at Alice Smith Elementary, Celeste Willis, shares how the Parent Teacher Home Visits she is doing every week are changing her, as well as her relationships with the students and families.

   “I had the older sister in my class and now I have the younger one. They live with a single father and the two girls are the exact opposite of each other. When I saw them at home I realized that how the girls acted at school was the same as they do at school, but I could tell they felt freer.

   The family lives a distance from school in a low socioeconomic area in an apartment complex. During the visit the girls wanted ice cream, so we walked down a side street and a trailer park separated them from the ice cream truck. I was wondering how we were going to get there because there was a fence blocking us from the ice-cream truck. The next thing I knew, the older sister goes up to a chain link fence that looks just fine, peels it open and crawls through it. It was so bold, although it was dangerous, of course. It was one of those moments that showed how me how they survive, how they have street smarts. 

   I see that Parent Teacher Home Visits are bridging a gap and that my relationships with the families and students are so much deeper now.  I can see that this is creating a better learning environment in the classroom."