FAQs

Programs FAQs

  • Home Works is a nationally recognized, evidence-based family engagement program that partners with schools to improve student outcomes by building strong, authentic relationships between families and educators. Through Home Visits, Family Learning Workshops, and Family Dinners, teachers and other school staff partner with families to support learning. Our impact includes measurable academic growth, improved student behavior and engagement, improved teacher-family relationship quality, and a stronger sense of belonging among students.

  • Home Works operates with the working definition of family engagement as a set of behaviors that families and caregivers intentionally and continuously practice that positively impact a child’s learning at home and academic success at school.

  • No. Missouri, like most states, does not require formal coursework in family engagement for teacher certification. Home Works helps fill this gap with hands-on training, planning support, and professional development for educators.

  • Decades of research show that family engagement is one of the most effective and sustainable strategies to improve academic outcomes, attendance, behavior, and school climate. Students whose families are engaged are more likely to attend school consistently, earn higher grades, and build strong relationships with their school community.

  • Home Works is:

    • Evidence-informed, with several years of independently verified student growth data and evaluations conducted by Goshen Education Consulting.

    • School-embedded, with intensive implementation support from the HW team, ensuring leadership and staff are central to the program’s success.

    • Multi-pronged, in addition to home visits, HW  layers on other evidence-backed family engagement strategies like Family Learning Workshops and Family Dinners.

    • Teacher-supported, with competitive compensation built in to ensure sustainability.

    • Customizable, responsive to each school’s context and community needs.

  • Item Academic progress is measured by comparing Home Works students’ fall and spring math & reading  assessments (STAR, iReady, etc) against students in the same school who didn’t participate in Home Works.

    We track changes in student behavior, attendance, and engagement.

    Surveys and qualitative feedback from families and educators are collected throughout the year to assess impact and improvement areas.

  •  Yes. Our model is grounded in the Dual Capacity-Building Framework for Family-School Partnerships (developed by Dr. Karen Mapp and collaborators). This nationally recognized framework guides our evidence-based approach to building meaningful family-school partnerships. Home Works is one of the few education interventions that uses this approach to simultaneously build capacity in both educators and families. Our program trains teachers, principals, and other school staff to engage families in ways that are relationship-centered and outcomes-driven—resulting in measurable improvements in student achievement, behavior, and belonging.

Schools FAQs

  • Yes, of course! Certified teachers and participating staff receive stipends for completing training, hosting Family Dinners, conducting Home Visits, and leading Family Learning Workshops. This recognizes their time and effort and supports sustainable implementation.

  • Any trained school staff member may participate. Home Visits are conducted in pairs: the lead visitor must be a certified teacher, while the co-visitor can be any trusted staff member who has a relationship with the student—such as a social worker, school counselor, gym teacher, or attendance aide.

  • Home Visits are always conducted by two trained school staff members (one of whom is ideally the lead classroom teacher for the student). This team-based structure ensures that each visit benefits from multiple perspectives, reinforcing connection by giving the child and family more than one meaningful relationship with the school. This model also helps educators to reflect, share accountability, and collaborate more effectively as a team.

  • No. While much of our work is in K–5 settings, Home Works has also been successfully implemented in early childhood centers, middle schools, and high schools.

  • Home Works staff work year-round to support implementation, but program activities begin with intentional planning and collaboration in the summer. Implementation then spans the full academic year. School partnerships are designed to grow over multiple years, giving school teams time to strengthen their family engagement practices. As capacity builds, veteran Home Works teachers often support incoming staff, enabling the school to eventually implement the program independently. Each year, we collect key metrics and outputs to support continuous improvement and measure impact.

  • Home Works is majority-funded by our community of donors. Schools absorb a small portion of the stipend cost to support buy-in and sustainability. We raise philanthropic support to cover program staffing, training, materials, coaching by Program Leaders, and evaluation.

  • If you're an administrator or educator, reach out via our Contact page to start a conversation. We look for alignment on school readiness, leadership buy-in, and a shared commitment to family engagement. We’re happy to explore what partnership could look like.

Families FAQs

  • Currently, Home Works is only offered at partner schools. However, we encourage families to share their interest with school leaders. You can also contact us directly—we're happy to share tips and resources for building strong connections with your child’s teacher.

  • You don’t need to be part of a partner school to use many of the strategies we share. Visit our Resources page or contact us for simple, practical ways to strengthen learning at home and build relationships with your child’s school.

Donors & Supporters FAQs

Volunteers FAQs

  • Yes. Home Works is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Your donation is tax-deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law.

  • Your gift supports educator stipends, program staffing, Family Learning Workshops, Home Visits, materials, and third-party evaluation. You help make family-school partnerships stronger—and student success possible.

  • Yes. Monthly giving helps us plan more sustainably. You can set up a recurring donation on our Donation page.

  • Yes. We accept gifts via check, donor-advised funds, stock, IRA disbursement, and planned giving. Contact development@teamhomeworks.org for details.

  • Yes! Our most frequent volunteer need is supporting school-based events—helping with food service, setting up and cleaning up, welcoming families, and more. These tasks are essential to creating space for educators to focus on connection and relationship-building. Visit our Volunteer page to learn more.

  •  Yes. We occasionally host volunteer days or large events that can accommodate group support. Reach out via our Volunteer page to discuss opportunities.

Contact us

Please reach out to us with any other questions.