As I mentioned in my previous post, the home visit program is an innovative approach that I saw at Magnolia. Basically, it’s the teachers’ visits to parent homes to inform them about their children’s performance and to discuss possible future plans. These visits yield to parent buy-in and their involvement to the child’s progress.
Topics of these visits generally include the strengths and weaknesses of the student, on what he/she should concentrate on for a better learning, and how could parents help the school along the way. Discussions even include the pupil’s academic discipline, social behavior, and the college/university alternatives that he/she might be enrolled after graduating from the charter school.
Personally, I value planning very much, that’s where every success starts; and I believe that having a good plan in hand also matters to reach the desired future for your kid. I think, home visits pave the path for these plans.
Parents get better understanding on who the teachers are by these visits as well. In parent meetings, you could only discuss general issues in a limited period of time, yet talking about your child’s future at a home setting is a totally different story.. After all, you’re the host and your kid’s teacher is your guest. No formal talks or several page reports, but rather a one-to-one chatter in a warm and friendly atmosphere…
All these result from voluntary attempts, mostly after business hours, and I think, this is one of the key reasons of Magnolia charter schools’ continuing success.
More on “why Magnolia?” will follow…
Related articles
- Magnolia welcomes everyone (parents4magnolia.org)
- I know my school and I love it! (parents4magnolia.org)
- Teachers’ devotion add value (parents4magnolia.org)
