In south Sacramento a decade ago, faith-based community groups saw struggling schools and decided to do something about it. Sacramento Area Congregations Together sought ways to bring teachers and parents together to build constructive relationships.
Using the community-organizing principles of one-on-one, face-to-face contacts, ACT piloted a parent-teacher home-visit program at six elementary and two middle schools in 1998. Teachers and staff members made 3,000 home visits in fall and spring.
That program – an equal partnership between ACT, the teachers union and the Sacramento City Unified School District – is celebrating its 10th year. It now is at 27 K-8 schools, five middle schools and nine high schools. It also has become a model statewide and nationwide.
For a school to participate, at least half its staff members have to agree to have the program and to come to a three-hour training session. Then they make voluntary appointments and go out to homes in teams of two. Teachers, who do the visits after hours or on weekends, get about $36 for each visit.
Three years ago, the program expanded to Luther Burbank and Hiram Johnson high schools. At the high school level, many parents were unaware of the new exit-exam graduation requirement and extra after-school classes were often nearly empty. The home visits changed that. The impact was immediately apparent.
Today, more students are passing. Parent interest has been so high that the schools have started a "parent university" that meets once or twice a month around opportunities beyond high school, including field trips to colleges. In April, 100 parents graduated from the parent university. The schools have a goal for 200 this year.
Last year, the high schools added visits to the homes of incoming ninth-graders. For parents, the home visits are empowering. They consider it a special honor to have somebody come to their home. More parents now participate directly in school events.
For teachers, learning parents' hopes and dreams for their children helps reignite a passion for teaching.
For students, home visits help with motivation. Knowing that one or two people at school care about you as an individual and can serve as a resource for you does make a difference.
Home visits are all about making connections, building trust and bridging key transitions – from pre-K to kindergarten, elementary to middle school, middle school to high school.
After 10 years, the parent-teacher home-visit program is a successful and institutionalized part of the life of the Sac City School District. We look forward to the next 10 years, with more schools, teachers and parents participating.
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