Superintendent Susana Cordova Joins Virtual Parent Teacher Home Visit

Over the past 10 years teachers and families have been getting to know each other through the Parent Teacher Home Visit program. Now, teachers and families are continuing to get to know each other through virtual visits. To kick off this anniversary year, Superintendent Susana Cordova joined a virtual home visit on Monday evening, getting to know fourth-grade student Ximena Espinosa and her family alongside her teachers Kaitlin Pranger and Gerardo Cedillo.

Ximena is attending school virtually at Florida Pitt Waller K-8 School. Susana talked with Ximena and her family about virtual learning and how they have adjusted to a remote classroom. Ximena and her sisters are all working together to support each other while learning from home, and though it’s a change, Ximena has continued to stay engaged in her education.

Susana asked what one of Ximena’s favorite things to do is, and discovered she has a love for words. 

“Me gusta leer muchos libros,” Ximena said. Translation: “I love to read lots of books.”

The opportunity to connect helps educators gain a deeper understanding of their student’s interests and goals. The Parent Teacher Home Visit program seeks to build strong and positive relationships between the family and their school in support of building academic partnership to ensure student success. The typical home visit is hosted somewhere outside of school (home, park, library, etc.), lasts around 20 to 30 minutes, is voluntary for both staff and families and is based around the question – what are your hopes and dreams for your child?

Ximena’s mother wants her daughter to achieve everything she sets her mind to and to continue to do well in school, furthering her career as a student by finishing high school and continuing to college. Her father also wants only the best for Ximena and says it is his responsibility as a father to further the hopes and dreams of his daughter by being there for her and supporting her in any way that he can. Both parents are very proud of Ximena and everything she has accomplished so far, and will continue to support her to further her career as a student and beyond. 

When school staff work closely with parents and families to achieve goals, we create a better chance of success for students. Now, building connections with families is more important than ever to support robust virtual learning environments. By participating in a home visit, Kaitlin was given the time and space to share how Ximena brightens up her virtual classroom. 

“I just love having Ximena in my class, she’s just awesome,” Kaitlin said. 

Gerardo also was able to provide Ximena’s family insight into how she supports her classmates.

“Having Ximena in my class is a joy,” Gerardo shared. “She is very helpful when it comes to helping students catch up on their work.” 

Ximena and her family appreciated being able to connect with Superintendent Cordova, Kaitlin and Gerardo outside of class. Over the course of the last ten years educators participating in the Parent Teacher Home Visit program have completed over 65,000 home visits. During this pandemic our educators dedication to developing and maintaining relationships with families has not waivered. Teachers and families have completed over 2,500 virtual home visits since the start of this year, ensuring that educators, families, and students are academic partners all throughout these difficult times.

The program will be hosting its annual home visiting event from Nov. 30 – Dec. 9 as an opportunity to continue the connections with our families. If you are interested in participating in a virtual Parent Teacher Home Visit, you can learn more and request a visit on the Family and Community Engagement website.