A high school principal at your door usually isn’t a good thing. But these Tri-Cities kids were thrilled

Kamiakin High School’s Class of 2022 got a knock on the door last week It was a welcome call to high school.

Teachers, staff members and even the school’s principal showed up at hundreds of Kennewick doorsteps — gift bag in hand.

For the incoming freshmen, a home visit ahead of school that starts Tuesday was not what they expected, but the surprise likely helped many better about the big step.

“I was nervous,” freshman Evelyn Hankins admitted to the Herald. “A teacher wasn’t coming over. The principal was coming over.”

Kamiakin Principal Chris Chelin dropped off her “swag bag” filled with goodies for her first year.

The delivery of the drawstring backpack — with a water bottle, Kamiakin decal, school calendar, candy and coupon for a T-shirt — also came with a preview of another tool, a Google Chromebook.

Freshmen, who had no idea about the Chromebooks, will use them for schoolwork throughout the year. This year kicked off the school’s intention to release them to each incoming class.

Freshman Dawson White said he was shocked when he saw the laptops.

“I thought it was cool that teachers came to meet me,” he said. His mother, Janell, said it helped his son get an idea of what his teachers are like before school.

Hankins’ mother, Michelle Myatt, said it made her daughter feel special.

“It was a really good experience,” Myatt said. “They’re doing a lot more than I ever thought they would.”

Many of the students even posed for selfies with Chelin or their teachers.

Kamiakin’s “Welcome Wagon,” which puts a face to high school for freshmen, is the first of its kind in Tri-Cities public schools.

The high school’s plan for the home visits started in the Action Team Partnership’s family and community and engagement team, Chelin said. The committee worked on the project for a year.

“It truly let teachers see who their kids are and where them come from,” he said.

Teachers and staff members developed a greater sense of empathy after discovering the different backgrounds of their students, Chelin said.

“We care enough to put ourselves in their world,” said Christine Miller, a student success coordinator who started at Kamiakin in 2006.

Teachers were assigned in pairs to cover 10 houses.

“They realized what their students face on a daily basis just to get to school,” she said.

Katrina Kutschkau, a Kamiakin grad who has been a math teacher there for 21 years, said she has never seen anything like the deliveries.

“I was really proud of our staff,” she said. “I hope it helps families to know that they are a valued partner in their education.”

Whether or not the school plans to do the visits again remains undecided, but the response from teachers and students was positive, Chelin said.

“At first it was a little uncomfortable for teachers,” Kutschkau said. “But, seeing the benefits in the student’s eyes and the parents’ eyes will make it happen again.”

“It’s one of the coolest things we’ve done as far as bonding with kids,”Chelin said. He said the staff embraced the idea of doing it next year.

Hankins and White both said it made them feel good about starting high school.

“I’m excited to step into high school and let it all unfold,” Hankins said.

This story was originally published August 27, 2018 at 7:20 PM.