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The Red Carpet Treatment
welcome parents at school and teachers at home


The Red Carpet Treatment is an opportunity for schools to examine how welcoming and family-friendly they are and allows them to develop strategies that can be implemented to make them more inviting to families and the community. The overriding objective of this program is to increase parent involvement; and to help parents, visitors and members of the community feel more comfortable coming to school.  A walk-through is conducted by a team comprised of parents, community representatives, school staff members, and Project Appleseed personnel, gathered at each District school, to look at features that help parents and community members know they are welcomed as partners in their students' education. (Adapted from the Fairfax County Public Schools VA: Welcoming Atmosphere Walk-Through.)

Welcome Parents @ School
Components: A walk-through is conducted by a team comprised of parents,
community representatives, school staff members, and Project Appleseed
personnel, gathered at each District school, to look at features that help parents
and community members know they are welcomed as partners.

School-wide Practices & Policies: Interview with principal/administrative staff.
Welcoming School Staff: Observations in the main office, hallways, and places
open to the public; listen and look for inviting friendly tones.

Written Materials: Newsletters, parent handbook, flyers, and other materials
distributed by the school. Web sites and telephone message lines are also
included, if applicable.

The Physical Environment: Parking areas, classrooms, lobby, hallways, etc.

The Red Carpet Treatment is an opportunity for schools to examine how welcoming and family-friendly they are and allows them to develop strategies that can be implemented to make them more inviting to families and the community. The overriding objective of this program is to increase parent involvement; and to help parents, visitors and members of the community feel more comfortable coming to schoo. 

Once the Red Carpet has been prepared, teachers can now conduct home visits and invite the parents to become involved at home and at school.

Welcome Teachers @ Home
The Parent/Teacher Home Visit Project Many organizations offer “home visits” but those are usually based on a model where an assessment is being made or a problematic behavior is being addressed. This is true whether school systems use home visits to address truancy problems or a social service agency is using home visits to address concerns and need for services. This strategy only heightens mistrust – the very issue the project is trying to address.

The Parent/Teacher Home Visit Project is different from those home visits because the project and training is based on a community organizing model and principals of family empowerment, endorsed by states and local teachers unions, interfaith organizing groups, and championed by school district leaders who are willing to do business a little differently for the sake of student success. The home visits are not “drop ins”, but rather an appointment set between two willing colleagues in a setting where teachers do not have the power/institutional advantage. 



The Parent/Teacher Home Visit Project is an inexpensive and easily replicated model of family engagement that has been proven to end the cycle of blame between families and school staff by building trust and respect, instilling cultural competency and increasing personal and professional capacity for all involved.

The increased communication, trust and support between families and teachers via home visits result in:

  • Increased student attendance rates.
  • Increased student test scores.
  • Decreased suspension and expulsion rates.
  • Decreased vandalism at school site.

Home visits also provide a positive opportunity to meet federal and state mandates that families be meaningfully informed of their child’s academic standing.

This extraordinary partnership, begun in Sacremento, CA., between a faith based community organizing group, a local teachers union and a school district began in 1998 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.

PROFESSIONAL relationships developed between families and teachers. Each co-educator is respected for expertise regarding knowledge of student and curriculum.

TRUST established between community and schools.  Home visits help end the common cycle of blame at schools with history of low student achievement.

 HOPE rekindled for student and school site success.  Parents, teachers and students share hopes, expectations and plans for academic success.

 VISITS provide opportunity for teachers to step into the community.  Perceptions are altered and cultural competency is increased in our diverse school communities.

 PARTICIPATION in visits is voluntary for everyone and teachers are paid for time.  Visits are designed to open lines of communication, not for assessments or interventions.