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	Vol.7, No 12, September 20, 1999
	Bill calls for parent-teacher home visitations By Christine Rhee Daily Forty-Niner  Parent-teacher conferences may take on a whole new meaning if Gov. Gray Davis votes to approve a state Assembly bill.    Assembly Bill 33, which calls for teachers conducting home visits with their students' parents, was approved Sept. 9 by the state Assembly.   "In the beginning of the school year, the teachers who wish to conduct home visitations will need to take classes that teach academic planning, basic interviewing techniques and interpersonal communication skills that will enable them to work with many different people," said Paul Van Dyke, spokesman for the 61st Assembly district.    Some Cal State Long Beach students, pursuing a career in teaching, believe this new bill will help them in their profession.   "I think the program is a great idea," said junior Grace Lee, an elementary education major.  "Visiting students' homes will tell me a lot about how they really are."     "I think this home-visiting program will help to build better relationship between teachers and students," said junior Kelly Choi, an elementary education major,  "and it will give the teachers some extra money so that's real good."   AB 33 encourages strong parental involvement by offering new opportunities for parents to be engaged in the education of their children.   Although the concept is new, the bill has found success in other California cities.   "Ten schools in Sacramento experimented with this program for couple of years and it was a great success," Van Dyke said.   "The home-visit program was great because parents knew what they can do to improve their childrenís attitudes and study skills."    Eighty-nine percent of the parents felt that their children were doing better academically, and 98 percent of the teachers agreed that studentsí academic skills improved since the home-visit programs began in the Sacramento Unified School District.   "Sacramento communities wanted to improve their schools and increase its programs," Van Dyke said.   "They tried a couple of programs but home visit program was liked by both parents and their children."   "There are many parents who were too busy to attend school conferences and they found it very convenient to invite the teachers over to their homes on weekends," Van Dyke said.   Each school participating in this program will be funded $25,000 per school.    The new bill will appropriate $15 million for teacher-home visits, $2.5 million to award schools with exemplary parental involvement and $2.5 million for community-based parent education.   "The home-visit conferences are to discuss what is to be expected from a student, and what the roles and the outcomes of the student should be," Van Dyke said.   "It's very important for teachers and the parents to evaluate the academic status of the children together."		Future of state's education planned CSULB students go to U.S. Capitol Credit card probe may be sparked Weight gain another problem for freshman Internet makes job search easier for students Bill calls for parent-teacher home visitations P.R. can't cover up Student still concerned about WPE Prof. defends WPE Don't blame us Bobby Matos jazz ensembles excites crowd Cranberries return with rosier outlook on life, music Band brings fun Shumard directs The Beach well Fall 99 ISSUES DAILY 49ER HOMEPAGE
Forty-Niner Publications, Department of Journalism, California State University, Long Beach ©1999 All rights reserved.