Students were on the lookout. They perched in home windows. They sat along street curbs.
Some had cleaned their rooms. One family made a YouTube video.
They were ready.
Their much-anticipated guests? Rosemont Elementary School teachers and staff.
Before the school’s open house events next week, Rosemont staff made announced visits to homes Tuesday, Sept. 1, to meet and greet their students.
“I attended the Model Schools conference earlier this summer and one thing almost all these successful schools had in common were home visits,” said principal Cari Hall. “I decided this would be worthwhile endeavor for Rosemont — to go into our communities, to see where students live, to get students excited about coming back to school and to remove any barriers between home and school.”
And the students were excited.
“You mean, my son’s teacher is coming to our house to meet him?” asked one parent of Hall to make sure she understood the letter and phone call she received. “He is so excited,” the parent told Hall.
“I wish school started tomorrow,” lamented a fourth-grade student following her teacher’s visit to the house.
Teachers brought each student a goodie bag filled with school supplies, books and snacks that had been donated to the school, and some teachers received cards and gifts from students.
Hall said twin brothers made a YouTube video in advance for their parents to show their visiting teacher because the boys would be out of town. The students, who will be new Rosemont this year, wanted the teacher to “meet” them before the first day of school.
“Seeing the joy on their faces and on the faces of their parents was worth it, and it was an experience I will never forget. It will definitely make me an even more compassionate teacher,” said second-grade teacher Debbie Edwards.
I am so proud to be the Assistant Principal at Rosemont ES. Our teachers genuinely love their students and want to establish the connections we know will help them become self-directed and self-reliant learners. Building positive relationships with our students and their parents, from the very beginning is what the Home Visits accomplished in a huge way.
What a great idea!
Visiting our students and their families at home to invite them to our open house was so much fun! We loved seeing the excitement on their faces, and sharing our excitement about the new school year!
That is sooooo awesome!