Feds should get on board with Parent/Teacher Home Visit Project
by Jonathan Raymond, published on October 26, 2012 at 3:41 PM
Storyline: Sacramento City Unified School District 
During his recent bus tour across America, U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan met with a group of mayors and superintendents in Sacramento and noted during comments that they (USDOE) had "dropped the ball" when it came to family engagement. This could have been a seminal moment for Mr. Duncan to shine the light on the Parent/Teacher Home Visit Project.
Started in Sacramento over a dozen years ago, the program was developed to improve relationships and communication between schools and families in an effort to end the cycle of teachers and parents blaming each other for a lack of student success. A partnership between Sacramento City Unified School District, Sacramento City Teachers Association, and Sacramento Area Congregations Together, the program, which later developed into a nonprofit organization, provides training, resources and support for teachers to visit students and their families at their homes.
On my first day as superintendent I went on two home visits. It was easy to see how special bonds are formed between the teacher, parent and