Parent-Teacher Home Visit Project & Worries

Today I spent 4 hours in training at the Anchorage School District Education Center (their district office... which used to be a mall) learning about the Parent-Teacher Home Visit Project. Essentially, the concept is that teachers (and other staff) begin doing home visits with their students' families. This is a means for building relationships with students.

I was reticent to go to the training. I figured that I already had strong parent relationships. My metric was that, as long as I was getting what I needed for my students, then my parent relationships were fine. I never really considered the years beyond that or the what the families might need from me. What this presentation made me think about was the needs of families to feel involved in educational institutions. Ideally a home visit makes things better in the short term and the long term. I'm excited at the prospect of the visits.

I am worried about our school numbers. As of right now, our enrollment is low. We are almost 100 down for the whole school. Currently there are only 44 students in 2nd grade. For most Title 1 schools, enrollment spikes after the start of school. I would imagine this is compounded here where students have to re-register every year. So, hopefully the numbers go back up... otherwise, I might be looking at another grade or school :( --keep your fingers crossed that I can stay at Willow Crest in 2nd grade.