Showcasing the Power of Home Visits
“Trust is so fundamental to all other kinds of outcomes — attendance, learning and social-emotional wellness. At Parent Teacher Home Visits, we really pay attention to that foundation of trust. Because when you have trust between families and schools, every other program, every other intervention is probably going to work a whole lot better.”
In recent weeks, PTHV leaders have had the pleasure of discussing the power of home visits with partner organizations and allies. Notably, we talked about the connection between home visits and attendance outcomes at Campaign for Grade Level Reading’s (CGLR) webinar on Oct.17th.
Then, on an Oct. 24th webinar hosted by Welcoming America and the Institute for Educational Leadership, we discussed how home visits are an important strategy as schools work to build relationships with immigrant and newcomer families.
During the CGLR convening, PTHV Executive Director Gina Martinez-Keddy introduced the PTHV model, explaining how voluntary, twice-a-year home visits enable educators to develop trusting relationships with families that extend throughout the school year. She shared that educators are encouraged to ask families about their hopes and dreams for their child in the first home visit, using the question to open up a different conversation and relationship. She also offered highlights from a research study that found the model resulted in significant decreases in chronic absenteeism and increases in English Language Arts proficiency rates.
Watch the webinar below.
Gina also led the discussion with Welcoming America by sharing that school leaders need to be mindful of the fact that immigrant and newcomer families are often coming from an educational system that is fundamentally different from ours. The expectations and behaviors considered normal in American educational settings might not be normal to them. In addition, these families are also navigating multiple other systems for the first time, which adds complexity to their experience. She capped the presentation with a set of recommendations for how schools can welcome immigrant families.
Learn more about what she shared by watching the recording below.
Be sure to also check out notes from the field from PTHV Program Manager Heather Kilgore, who shared highlights from recent in-person convenings.
