Teacher house calls - STLtoday.com

Teacher house calls - STLtoday.com

Heather, a kindergartner at Stix Early Childhood Center, got an unusual visit on a snowy Friday earlier this month.

Her teacher, Karen Pittinger, came to talk to her and her grandmother about schools, her friends and the year so far.

Pittinger brought a gift bag, with notebooks, mechanical pencils and a book about tropical birds. "Since you're one of my best readers, I have a feeling you'll grow into it," Pittinger said.

A new program in the region is sending hundreds of teachers to their students' doorsteps. 

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The concept of home visits isn't a new one. A federal study has found that teachers rate such visits as effective. Yet, the concept has been stymied by a lack of training and — more critically — funding to cover overtime pay.

Now, with the support of a philanthropic foundation, three St. Louis districts have started home visits in a program being tracked by researchers. The Teacher Home Visit Program has been in place at Valley Park Elementary for three years, at Maplewood-Richmond Heights for two years and will be expanding in the St. Louis Public Schools. Already, city schools have conducted nearly 600 first visits.