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 Home-School Connection Program
The Home-School Connection Program is devoted to promoting the
school success of Hispanic elementary school children. The
project, which serves as a model of successful
university-community partnership, builds a web of social support
for immigrant families.
The project began in 1995 with first-graders, and now works with
16 transitional bilingual classrooms from kindergarten through
fourth grade at the Edgerly Educational Center and the East
Somerville School, both in Somerville, MA. A grant from the W.K.
Kellogg Foundation has helped support the growth of the program.
Currently, 320 families participate in Home-School Connection.
Responding to needs expressed by teachers and families, the
major goal of the project has been to facilitate children's
adaptation to school and improve their success in the classroom.
Immigrant children tend to be less successful in school than
U.S.-born children and among them, Spanish-speaking children
have especially high rates of school dropout and academic
failure. In 1990, studies showed that 70% of all non-native
English speakers enrolled in schools spoke Spanish as a first
language. In Somerville alone, between 1980 and 1990, the
Spanish-speaking population tripled, making it the largest
single minority group.
The main components of the program are assessment of children
and mediation to strengthen the communication between teachers
and parents. Many of the children who participate in the program
have school adaptation problems due to the cultural differences
in expectations between their home and school. By visiting
children and parents in their homes, program mediators are able
to inform parents about school activities, educational
expectations, and ways in which they can support their children.
Mediators also help teachers understand children's behavior in
the context of their families' values.
The program combines research and hands-on experience for Tufts
students. Every year, six to eight students (undergraduate and
graduate) from the Eliot-Pearson Department of Child Development
participate in the program. Their participation has produced
several publications, theses, independent studies, and
presentations at national and international professional
conferences. Findings from this study contribute to our
understanding of the school adaptation process and school
success of immigrant children, and the project has attracted
attention around the world, including Finland, Hong Kong, and
Kuwait.
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