This August, pairs of educators from seven middle schools in the Bronx and Brooklyn set out to pay home visits to the parents or guardians of all the incoming 6th-graders. They didn’t go with a notepad or a to-do list in hand, but rather in the role of school ambassador to open up a conversation with parents about their children and the parents’ expectations and hopes.

So began a new pilot initiative this school year that has not received much fanfare but has the potential to reinvigorate the parent-school connection that has frayed in many of our middle schools.

The Parent Teacher Home Visit Project is exactly what its name implies: The school’s staff, including the teachers, visits the homes of students from their school to meet once with a parent or guardian. The purpose of these visits is to strengthen the relationship between the school and the community and to end the culture of blame that sometimes permeates our schools by creating a mutual feeling of trust and respect between parents and educators. The program’s supporters believe that creating a collaborative environment, or enhancing one that already exists, will also have a positive impact on student achievement.

The program originated in California in 1998 out of a partnership among the Sacramento school district, a faith-based community organizing group and the local teachers union.

The California founders described their program as “an effort to address the cycle of blame that existed between parents and site personnel at several Sacramento schools where there was a pervasive history of low student achievement, high levels of poverty, and where high percentages of children entered school as English learners.”

In New York City, participation in the Parent Teacher Home Visit Project is completely voluntary and open to staff in all job titles in each of the seven participating schools. Before staff members pay a home visit, they attend a training session about the program, and, of course, review the safety protocol.

One of the guiding principles of the program is that no one particular group of students is targeted. The home of every student, whether high-achieving, low-achieving, disruptive or not, can and should be visited. Staff participants go in pairs on the visits. The students might not be their own students; they can be any student from the school. Each educator ideally visits about 20 students.

Here is a brief description of the Parent Teacher Home Visit Project process and visit:

• The visit is conducted during the late summer.

• A visit generally lasts 30 to 40 minutes. It is not like a traveling open school conference. There is absolutely no note-taking. The purpose is simply to have a conversation.

• The visit is intended to help lay the foundation for a yearlong relationship between the school and the family.

• The school can learn more about the family from the visit, and the family can, in turn, gain greater understanding about the school.

• There are three basic stages:

o Introduction. A call is made to set up an appointment with the parent or guardian. No visit is unannounced; each is scheduled.

o Listen. The parent or guardian is asked about his or her own educational experiences to elicit suggestions as to how the school can help the child be successful.

o Share. Every parent will be asked the same questions: “What are the hopes and dreams you have for your child? How can our school assist you with those hopes and dreams?” These questions are powerful. Every parent has hopes and dreams for their children, but how often are these questions asked of them?

• Upon leaving the home, the staff members will invite the parent or guardian to the school with the goal of strengthening the relationship.

If the project works as intended, it will help re-establish the connection between school and parent that has become less and less of a priority in most middle schools. While our middle school students want ever-greater autonomy from their parents and families, we know firsthand that young adolescents actually need significant help, support and guidance from their parents and families.

We would all agree that parents and schools ought to be allies in relationships of trust, respect and open communication, if we want our students to be successful not only in school but also in life. This project represents a small but significant step in that endeavor.

Let’s hope this pilot takes off and eventually comes to a middle school near you.