May 17, 2012 (Sacramento):  Forget Facebook, text messages and Twitter. One of the best ways schools can reach out to families and improve student success is thoroughly old school: The house call.

Research shows that teachers who spend time with their students’ families in their homes experience fewer classroom behavior issues, better classroom attendance and greater support for learning outside of school.

The move to bring educators from behind their desks and into their students’ living rooms began with the nationally acclaimed Parent/Teacher Home Visit Project (PTHVP), based in Sacramento. PTHVP is a partnership between Sacramento City Unified School District, the Sacramento City Teachers Association and Sacramento Area Congregations Together.

The organization is ramping up local efforts with a two-day conference for school site personnel on Friday and Saturday (May 18 and 19). The conference is co-hosted by SCUSD and San Juan Unified School District.

“The Parent/Teacher Home Visit Project provides a proven, inexpensive and meaningful strategy to engage both families and school staff more effectively,” said Sacramento City Unified School District Superintendent Jonathan Raymond. “Making authentic connections with the adults in our children’s lives is essential to increasing student learning and creating caring cultures on our campuses.”

More than half of SCUSD’s 82 schools participate in the project. Some, like Luther Burbank High School, have expanded the work to include on-campus Parent Universities where families can learn valuable skills that can help them help their children, such as English language skills.

PTHVP currently has programs operating in a dozen states across the country and has been recognized by the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. The George Lucas Foundation’s Edutopia publication also named it one of 10 “Big Ideas for Better Schools.”
                                                                                                                                                                                
                                WHAT:                 The Parent/Teacher Home Visit Project Conference
                               
                                WHEN:                 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Friday, May 18 and Saturday, May 19
                               
                                WHERE:               Citrus Heights Community Center (Friday)
                                                                6300 Fountain Square Drive
                                                                Citrus Heights, CA 95621
                                                               
                                                                SCUSD’s Serna Center (Saturday)
                                                                5735 47th Ave.
                                                                Sacramento, CA 95824