12 / matters magazine / school 2017 T alk about the first day of school and children and adults alike will feel that nervous fluttering in their stomachs. With so many unknowns, it’s no wonder apprehension sets in. Advice abounds on how to deal with first day jitters, from role-playing to reading a book about first days to packing backpacks and lay- ing out clothes the night before. At the Seth Boyden Demonstration School, they take a different approach. Principal Damion Frye visits every kindergartner at home. He’s been doing so since he was hired in 2016. “I mentioned the idea of home visits in my inter- view for the job.” recalls Frye. “Once I got the job one of the PTA members reminded me of that con- versation and asked me to start scheduling them.” Frye’s inspiration came from the home visits he con- ducted during his time teaching at the Equity Proj- ect Charter School in New York City. “They were very moving experiences and I always had it in my head to do them at another school.” According to PTA co-president Kelly Villanueva, Seth Boyden parents are amazed that the principal made plans to visit all 55 families this year. “It’s quite an ambitious goal,” she remarks. “For the children, it’s like having a celebrity come to your house.” Home visits are nothing new but, according to The Principal’s in the House Seth Boyden’s Principal Frye meets kindergartners on their own turf BY ELLEN DONKER