Carrie Rose, the extraordinary and tireless Director of the Parent/Teacher Home Visit Project is at the Detroit convention of the American Federation of Teachers.

She let me know that the St. Paul affiliate (read more about their work at St. Paul teachers visit students’ homes in search of common ground) has submitted a resolution to the union’s education issues committee supporting home visits. Here’s its text:

Parent/Teacher Home Visit Project

Whereas, with attacks on teachers and our union, and on the 99%, it is more important than ever that we find common cause with the parents of our students;

Whereas, fighting back requires developing relationships that lead to greater power to affect change;

Whereas, home visits have been proven to end the cycle of blame between families and school staff by building trust and respect;

Whereas, the increased communication, trust and support between families and teachers via home visits results in increased student attendance, increased student achievement, decreased suspension and expulsion rates and decrease vandalism at the school site;

Whereas, home visits provide unique and meaningful opportunities for cross cultural learning that can better engage families, staff, and students in the educational experience;

Whereas, decades of research shows that when parents and teachers work together, students do better academically and
socially;

Be it resolved that the AFT work with the nationally recognized Parent/Teacher Home Visit Project (PTHVP); a voluntary but compensated program with values supported by AFT, to educate our locals and spread the implementation of PTHVP home visit model.

My support for the Parent/Teacher Home Visit Project is well-known (see The Best Resources For Learning About Teacher Home Visits), so I hope the resolution moves forward!