News
TEACHERS TO LEARN ABOUT VISITING FAMILIES
09-15-2009
Forty-two teachers from Vaughn Middle School, Traner Middle School and Hug High School will learn about positive home visits to families tonight, September 15, 2009, at Hug High School from 4-7 p.m. Trainers from the Parent Teacher Home Visit Project in Sacramento will share the knowledge and experience they've learned from doing home visits for the last eleven years with teachers from these three schools.The pilot program in Washoe County School District will provide a way for schools to reach out to families who might not feel comfortable coming to the school. "We currently do home visits to families in Washoe County, but many times it's when the child is in trouble for attendance. This is a different kind of home visit. It's a way for our teachers and families to get to know each other and start out with a positive relationship," stated Andy Kelly, principal of Hug High School.
Providing the training is step one to a yearlong project. Teachers will then pair together and schedule visits with students' families who are willing to meet with them. According to Dr. Ginny Knowles, principal of Vaughn Middle School, "Our staff is excited to meet some of the families who we might not have met before. The chances of a student succeeding increases when we learn more about our students outside of school, get know their families and work together to support the student."
A partnership between the Nevada State Parent Information & Resource Center at the Education Alliance and the Title I Office of Washoe County School District made the project a reality. "It's been a long time goal of the Nevada State PIRC to bring this program to our district. A partnership with the Title I Office and their willingness to pilot this program with stimulus funds helped to make it a reality," explained Denise Hedrick, Executive Director of the Education Alliance.
More than 240 families whose students attend Vaughn, Traner and Hug will receive visits this fall from teachers. To learn more about the Nevada State PIRC or the Education Alliance, visit their web site at http://www.nevadapirc.org/ or http://www.ed-alliance.org/ or the Parent Teacher Home Visit Project at www.ptvhp.org.
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