When teachers make home visits

by Kelly Garcia

In early spring of my first year teaching at YES Prep West, a high-poverty charter school in Houston, my school director shocked me with a list. It contained the home addresses of more than 20 incoming students, and I had about three weeks to visit each one. The undertaking turned out to be massive – 30 hours, a couple tanks of gas, and a couple pit stops at McDonald’s to feed my student helpers.

Teacher visits to student homes are still rare. But in my case, it planted seeds for partnerships that helped my students succeed.

The first step was to call each family and request a meeting when the parents and incoming student were both available. I learned quickly that the language barrier was going to make this challenging. Most of the parents spoke only Spanish. With some conversational Spanish skills, I struggled through several calls, unsure of whether I had translated the meeting date correctly.

I weaved through Houston with another teacher in the passenger seat and two current students in the back. At each stop, we were offered a treat: tamarindo sodas, homemade tamales, even fresh tortillas. Families gathered with nervous excitement over the journey they were committing to. At most stops, my students guided the meeting, translating my words from English to Spanish. We explained what made YES Prep so special – that every student, faculty member and administrator is working towards ensuring that each student is accepted to a four-college upon high school graduation. We promised the incoming sixth graders and their families that we would work tirelessly toward that goal for all seven years. Just this short introduction was often enough to make some parents tear up.

Once the parents internalized the extent of their child’s journey, they were excited and motivated to commit to a list of responsibilities they had to agree to in order for their child to attend. This list wasn’t a breeze. The school had mandatory Saturday classes. It also required students who did not complete their homework to stay after 6 p.m. the next day to finish it. The parents would have to provide transportation even though many of them were working two jobs and caring for small children. And yet, I never met with a parent who did not sign off on their responsibilities list. Any cynic who says parents – especially low-income parents – don’t care about their child’s education has never been to one of these meetings.

The students were required to read their list of responsibilities, too. They ranged from completing all homework, to treating all YES team members with respect, to arriving to school on time each day. Often the students struggled to read the list. I remember thinking to myself, We’re going to fix that for you at YES. Once they finished, I always gave my current students a chance to candidly talk about what life is like at the school. They never failed to mention the two hours of homework each night. They also never failed to mention the spring trip. Each year, students had the opportunity to earn a spot on a 5-night long trip that incorporated the exploration of a new city with a college campus visit. In my two years, I took groups of 75-100 students to Austin and New Orleans.

I was sensitive to the likelihood that both the new student and parent were feeling overwhelmed and nervous about their commitments. So, it seemed particularly fitting that I read my responsibilities as a teacher last. I told them I would be reachable by cell phone every evening to answer homework questions. I explained that I would treat all of my students with respect, would correct misbehavior and would celebrate achievements. I promised to always be a teacher, but to be a teammate, cheerleader and even a friend when needed. I like to think it brought a sense of calm for families, to have a teacher come to their house, on their side of town, and assure them they would have unwavering support as their child prepares for college.

YES Prep takes pride in being a family-oriented school, and beginning each student’s experience with a home visit makes a bold statement. During my two years, each student carried around a behavior tracker that was used to record behavioral and organizational infractions. Parents were encouraged to review these trackers each day and sign them each week. Staff also involves parents in the discipline process by using parents’ knowledge about their children to help create behavior incentive plans and classroom interventions. Teachers were required to make five parent phone calls each week to communicate both positive observations about academics and behavior, and to share any concerns. Furthermore, parents always had the ability to reach teachers by calling their school-provided cell phones. The lines of communication between teachers and parents were always open.

I believe the home visits planted the seeds for the parent-teacher partnership to grow. By increasing the parents’ involvement, accountability increased for students and teachers. Students knew their parents would know about their grades and even minor behavior infractions. Teachers knew parents could contact them at any time for any questions, concerns and help. And parents were confident that their child’s teachers were fully committed to their success.

(Image from priscasvoice.com)