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Salem teachers learn about students by visiting

SALEM — There’s no place like home — that’s why Salem teachers spent a recent professional development day visiting with students and their families on their home turf.

For Superintendent Dr. Joe Shivers, the visits provide teachers a glimpse into the lives of their students, into their hopes and dreams for the future.

The students and families get the undivided attention of the teachers in a setting where they’re more comfortable talking. Students can talk about what they like and parents can ask questions or relay to teachers what they want for their child.

“You just get to know things about a student that you normally wouldn’t get to know,” Shivers said.

Salem schools started the home visits about a dozen years ago. This year teachers and administrators ventured out of their buildings on Oct. 12 and conducted 251 visits. The idea is to try to visit a student’s house at least once during their K-12 education.

The program is strictly voluntary. Teachers call parents to set up a time for the visit and in some cases there may be more than one student at a home when there are siblings involved. Most of the visits take place during the day, but some have occurred in the evening.

Shivers explained that not every parent can accommodate a visit and some prefer meeting at a neutral spot, such as the public library. The visits are for all students, not just students who may need some extra help.

“We try to get a fair representation of every kid,” he said.

Visits can last anywhere from 15 minutes to 45 minutes or longer. Teachers who were doing the visits for the first time expressed some nervousness, but came away saying the visits were worth the effort because they learned so much. Teachers fill out reports about their visits and one said the home visits are the best thing they do in the district.

Shivers said the overall response was positive and parents were very welcoming.

Board member Doug Moffett said as someone who has had a home visit as a parent, he wished the district had home visits when he was a teacher. He said he’s talked to a lot of parents and 90 percent of the reports he heard were favorable.

“We want to find out what we’re doing right or wrong,” Shivers said.

Teachers went in teams of two and didn’t go empty-handed. High school teachers took pies with them and every home visited received two free tickets to a Quakers football game.

Shivers also did the visits and what impressed him was hearing the dreams of the students, commenting that at school they don’t typically learn what’s driving students.

In the protocol given to teachers for the visits, they were told to listen and learn, learn about a student’s interests and activities, and keep positive.

“You find out about their interests,” Shivers said.

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