Look who's coming to dinner

Both Boston and Springfield are part of a national pilot program in which teachers come (after being invited!) to their students' homes for dinner:

The goal is to build stronger relationships between teachers and families in a quest to bolster parent volunteerism in school and involvement in their child’s education at home, as well as break down any misconceptions that parents and teachers might have about one another.

Boston, which is working in partnership with Harvard University, began its program two years ago and has expanded it to five elementary schools. It followed Springfield’s effort, which launched about five years ago as a partnership among that city’s teach ers union, a middle school, and the Pioneer Valley Project, a faith-based community-organizing group that works closely with parents. The program is now active at seven schools, including a high school.

The outreach - to several hundred families this year - is part of a strategy in these two cities to reverse a trend of parental disengagement. In both districts, parents rarely turn out for parent-teacher organization meetings, teacher conferences, and other activities at many schools.

In some cases, they are too busy working multiple jobs, don’t have transportation to get to the school, or feel intimidated talking to teachers because of their own lack of education or a bad experience in school. In Boston, many parents who grew up during the tumultuous period of forced busing keep away from the schools because they harbor resentment or even mistrust of the system.

The visits are also designed to enlighten teachers, many of whom live outside the cities and may have false impressions about the neighborhoods in which their students live and what their home life might be like.

The NEA is the source of the original grant. While the districts haven't formally followed up, they have seen both increased parental involvement and improved grades.