A North Carolina principal has a unique strategy for connecting with her middle schoolers: visiting all of their homes.
Elizabeth MacWilliams, principal of Caroll Magnet Middle School in Raleigh, North Carolina, told NBC News it was a practice she began as a teacher when parents didn’t show up at her parent-teacher open house.
“We mistake [parents’] absence at a school event for a lack of care or interest,” MacWilliams said. “I found that’s not the case.”
She has visited more than 900 homes over the course of the school year and sees the positive effects it’s had on students and their families—students’ grades have improved and parents’ morale is high.
“She’s helped me view myself and realize that I do have potential,” said Alana Whittaker, an eighth grader who has been struggling in school.
