Building Community: One Family at a Time

Rancho Minerva Middle School faculty and staff kicked off the 2015-2016 school year in a very unique way.  On the first day back to school, RMMS ditched their welcome back meeting and PD for a community building activity that made a huge impact. Teams of teachers spread out through the community to visit students’ homes and send them the message, “We are excited to have you back at Rancho Minerva.”  The home visits were the latest effort in building the #RMMSFAM community.  Teams of 4-5 teachers, spent an hour visiting and building relationships with 10 families throughout Vista.  Teachers were given a brief orientation prior to heading out, which included a message from Jacinto Noriega, Professional Learning Manager from Digital Promise. "Some of the nerves you may be feeling prior to heading into the homes of our students, are the same nerves our parents feel stepping on our campus", remarked assistant principal Anna Lozano prior to hitting the streets.

RMMS Teachers welcome new student to the #RMMSFAM at her home

The home visits continued as each team invited the (10) families to a community lunch in the park.  We strategically picked the small park in the center of the community where a majority of our students live.  We wanted to be on their turf, to show them we care and to give many of our teachers a better sense of the community in which their students live.  The event culminated with each family getting a goodie bag, and an invite to the first principal’s coffee.

The impact of this event went far beyond the day.  Teacher reflections following the visits revealed many had an eye opening experience, truly seeing how students live after the bell rings.  “This was the best day of my teaching career” stated a teacher following the event.  Another teacher reflected,  “Today reinforced that relationships are the foundation of all that we do.” The lasting impact on our RMMS team continues as we strive to create a learning environment that meets the needs of the diverse backgrounds, living situations, and needs of our students and their families..

The impact in the #RMMSFAM parent community continued as parents were invited to the first principal coffee.  For many of the families who attended, this was their first school event, sitting down with the principal, administration, parent community liaison and teachers to discuss the direction of the school.  One parent remarked, “This school is different, I have never felt this way about a school, You are beautiful people the way you reach out to us”.  

We decided to do this event to help build community.  Through leveraging the willingness of our amazing staff, support from Digital Promise and our willingness to take risks, we are making our mark within the community of Vista.