Kennewick, Washington
Row 2 (l to r): Lynette Brightman, Lee Ann Snyder-Gregory, Danielle Craigen, Aldijana Sakic, Lisa Fann, Jennifer Behrends (Principal), Marina Hulstrom, Brienne Leach, Alishia Land
Visit a Viking
Visit a Viking gives staff at Vista Elementary School a clear structure and tools for home visits. The goal is to help staff feel comfortable and confident about visiting students and parents, and help families and staff strengthen their relationships. The Action Team for Partnerships (ATP) developed a checklist to prepare for a home visit, a phone script for an initial phone call, a letter to parents to explain the program, and a thank you. The ATP obtained board games and card games to bring to families that would support student learning, and the PTO provided poster kits for students to show a highlight of the visit.
After calling to schedule a visit, two school staff went to meet and talk with each family and student. They asked questions about things they enjoyed doing, favorite meals, pets, unique projects or interests, and school topics. They left the games and poster supplies for the children. Students were asked to create a poster of their family to display at school. The staff offered to take a family picture for students to include on their poster. This program started small and will grow gradually, with one visit each month to a family from each grade level. Visit a Viking is advertised in the school newsletter so families can sign up for a visit.
Dr. Seuss Night – A K-1 Literacy Night
Dr. Seuss came to Vista Elementary School’s Literacy Night for students in kindergarten and grade 1 and their parents. He bore a suspicious resemblance to the school principal! The goal was to help parents of the youngest students learn about the school’s literacy curriculum and tools they could use to support their children’s literacy learning. The ATP developed easy games to support children’s foundational reading skills. For example, the kindergarten teachers selected a consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) bingo activity and the first grade teachers chose a Sight Word Go-Fish game. Teachers introduced the games in class so that students could teach their families how to play at Dr. Seuss Night and at home.
Dinner was donated by the school’s community partner, Little Caesars Pizza. Over 250 parents with 93 children attended. Then, parents went to the library with the school’s reading specialist for information on reading goals for kindergarten and first grade students and strategies to use at home, in the car, and on walks. The information was presented in English with Spanish translation via headsets. Students went to classrooms to play the literacy games with their teachers. Parents met their children, learned the games, and went to the gym for Dr. Seuss to read aloud one of his stories. Families received a box of food from 2nd Harvest—a local foodbank. Food for thought and good for families—both much appreciated.
Dr. Seuss Night–A K-1 Literacy Night is featured in Promising Partnership Practices 2016.
