The St. Louis Teacher Home Visit Program places teachers and other educators directly in the homes of their students in order to improve the relationship and communication among teachers, parents, and students. Home visits are viewed by many as a “magic bullet” or the third leg of a three-legged educational stool which includes principals and teachers. Without parental involvement, most students will not succeed academically. Home visits by teachers (and other school personnel) get parents involved in their child's education — and let parents and children know how much teachers care. Home visits give teachers the insights they need to help their students succeed and to help families feel connected so they can be a support to their children.

A History of Teacher Home Visits

Teacher home visits aren't a new idea. Head Start requires teachers to make two home visits for each student during the academic year, in addition to requiring regular parent-teacher conferences at school. Many kindergartens in the U.S. also require home visits by the teachers before school starts.

In 1998, teachers in California and Texas began visiting the homes of their students. The results were significant. The programs saw an increase in academic achievement and test scores, improved attendance and homework completion, a significant increase in parental involvement, and improved attitudes about school held by both student and the parent, and they saw a decrease in discipline problems.

Dr. Geni Cowan, California State University at Sacramento (CSUS) – A three year study of 14 home visit pilot schools (1998-2001) found “Student performance has improved over the three years of the project’s implementation; parental involvement has increased, and communication between home and school has been enhanced.”

The Teacher Home Visit Program in St. Louis was inspired by those programs. In 2004, teachers in six elementary St. Louis Public Schools (SLPS) began to do home visits. In 2005 home visits began in Meramec Elementary (Clayton) School to the homes of the Voluntary Transfer Students (VTS) who live in the city, and home visits were made for six months in Normandy Public Schools. All experienced excellent results.

In 2007, Valley Park Elementary School began home visits with their VTS students and has had such success that it made a three-year commitment. Discipline problems have gone down 67% and the MAP (state test) scores for the students visited have doubled!

In May 2008, Maplewood Richmond Heights School District began home visits and has also made a three-year commitment. St. Louis Public Schools has begun teacher home visitsagain in four elementary schools, and home visits are being made in the newest charter school, the North Side Community School, which made making home visits a condition of employment.

Evaluation

The Teacher Home Visit Program uses an external evaluators' report to improve the program and report to the Community Advisory Board and all the schools about the effectiveness of the THVP. The THVP is being evaluated in terms of both implementation and outcomes. The implementation evaluation includes interviews and focus groups, while the outcomes portion seeks to determine the program's success in meeting its objectives.