Giving Compass' Take:

• Jabez LeBret explains how home visits would have made a difference for him as a child and why he is working to provide that support for students. 

• How can funders help districts find the resources to fund home visits? What could home visits look like in your community?

• Learn more about the benefits of home visits in early childhood. 

When I was growing up, my mother struggled with mental illness, my stepfather was abusive and I lacked the stability I needed to become a successful student. Like many kids, part of my survival mechanism was to hide what was happening inside the walls of my house. A home visit would have fundamentally changed my life, but no one from my school ever came.

When I was in third grade, my teachers began sending me to the resource room for reading. By fifth grade, I was acting out in class and rarely turning in homework. I started cutting class in middle school and regrettably, by high school, I stole some cash from the lunch line register, skipped school regularly and failed nearly half my classes. By that time, I was dragging everyone who came within arms length into my downward spiral of dysfunction.

The schools I attended missed every opportunity to catch these issues early, and sadly I did not graduate from high school. All was not lost. Luckily, I had some friends whose parents stepped in along the way, providing me a place to stay and encouraging me do homework. Eventually I received my GED, went on to graduate from Gonzaga University and founded a marketing agency.

In 2017, I sold my company and my wife quit her job so we could pursue our dream of creating a school for at-risk students together. One of the first commitments we made was to visit every prospective student’s home so we would understand each individual in broader context. Because of my own troubled history at school, this element was crucial for me. Looking back, I realize that many of these early life experiences have prepared me for the journey I’m on now as we launch our school.

Behavioral issues and even low test scores in the classroom are often the result of experiences that occur outside the school. This research studyfrom the National Institutes of Health (NIH), investigates the correlation between chaotic homes and children’s behavior, and in it, researchers make a strong case that conducting home visits has a net positive impact on the school, as they can provide valuable information about the student.

Read the full article about home visits by Jabez LeBret at EdSurge.