HOME WORKS!

What HOME WORKS! does

Home Works is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, that delivers an evidence-informed family engagement program to K-12 public and charter schools across Missouri. Founded in 2007 by Karen Kalish, the organization partners directly with school districts to embed three integrated service components—Home Visits (conducted by paired trained staff including a certified teacher), Family Learning Workshops, and Family Dinners—alongside year-round Teacher Training and stipend support. A deeper-engagement HOME WORKS! Fellowship Program operates at two St. Louis Public Schools sites in partnership with The Tilles Foundation, requiring 150+ hours of additional family engagement work per teacher per year. The model is grounded in Dr. Karen Mapp's Dual Capacity-Building Framework for Family-School Partnerships and is evaluated by an independent third party, Goshen Education Consulting.

The organization serves 116 schools across 15+ named Missouri school districts (urban, suburban, and rural) and reports independently verified outcomes including that participating students meet academic growth goals at 60% higher rates than peers, 100% of teachers report improved student belonging, and 97% report deeper cultural understanding. The company_description_short technology stack is intentionally minimal: Home Works is a relationship-centered program, not a software platform. It uses standard nonprofit tools (DonorPerfect, Squarespace, Canva) and creative services vendors. Distribution is enterprise-direct: district administrators initiate contact, and Home Works evaluates alignment on readiness and leadership buy-in before onboarding.

The business model is fully philanthropic. Revenue is generated through individual donations (one-time, recurring, planned giving, DAFs, stock, IRA), corporate and community giving (Target Circle, Zee Bee Market give-back events, Edward Jones volunteer engagement), and philanthropic grants (e.g., The Tilles Foundation). All programs are free to participating schools and families, with schools absorbing a small portion of teacher stipend costs. The organization employs approximately 33 staff and is currently led by CEO Ashli Florek, who joined in 2025 following Colleen Polak's September 2024 departure and a rebrand in October 2025.

Name

HOME WORKS!

Legal name

Home Works

Website

https://teacherhomevisit.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Home Works is a St. Louis-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit delivering an evidence-informed family engagement program—Home Visits, Family Learning Workshops, and Family Dinners—to 116 K-12 schools across Missouri, funded entirely by philanthropic donations and grants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

K-12 Family Engagement Nonprofit Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Other Individual and Family Services (624190), Educational Services (611)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

K–12 Support & School Improvement Nonprofits (BPAGADAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Family Engagement & Home–School Partnership Programs (EDACALAB), Family & Parent Support Services (Parent Coaching, Advocacy) (EDAJALAK), Family Engagement & Caregiver Support Programs (SEL/Mental Health) (EDAKAMAK)

Keywords

• Family engagement programs
• Teacher home visits
• K-12 education services
• School community partnerships
• Nonprofit education programs

Headquarters

HQ city

St. Louis

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: Home Works is primarily funded by a community of individual donors who make one-time or recurring gifts. The organization promotes monthly giving and accepts gifts via check, stock, IRA disbursement, donor-advised funds (DAF), and planned giving.
2. Corporate and Community Giving: Home Works receives support from corporate giving programs (e.g., Target Circle community giving), event-based fundraising (e.g., Zee Bee Market donate-a-sale events), and workplace giving / matching gift programs.
3. Philanthropic Grants: Home Works raises philanthropic support to cover program staffing, training, materials, coaching by Program Leaders, and third-party evaluation. The organization has received foundation support (e.g., The Tilles Foundation for the Fellowship program). EIN 45-4572322 is listed for donor-advised fund recommendations.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Home Works partners with K-12 schools and districts across Missouri to deliver a structured family engagement program that combines Home Visits, Family Learning Workshops, Family Dinners, and teacher training. Programs are provided at no cost to schools or families and are funded entirely through philanthropic donations and grants, with implementation support, coaching, and teacher stipends supplied by the nonprofit.

Product overview

Home Works is a nonprofit organization offering a unified family engagement program that connects schools and families to support student success. The core program consists of Home Visits, Family Learning Workshops, Family Dinners, and Teacher Training, which work together as an integrated system to build authentic relationships between educators and families. The organization also offers an enhanced Fellowship Program for select partner schools seeking deeper family engagement implementation. All programs are delivered through school partnerships and funded primarily through philanthropic support.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Home Visits Trained school staff conduct home visits in pairs to build authentic relationships between educators and families, helping bridge the gap between home and school environments. Delivered through partner K-12 schools.
• Family Learning Workshops Interactive workshops that equip parents and caregivers with strategies and resources to support learning activities at home, reinforcing classroom instruction. Delivered through partner K-12 schools.
• Family Dinners Community-building events that foster belonging and connection between families, educators, and students in a welcoming shared-meal setting. Delivered through partner K-12 schools.
• Teacher Training Year-round professional development and compensation for educators to build capacity for meaningful family engagement practices. Includes training required to conduct home visits and lead workshops.
• HOME WORKS! Fellowship Program An enhanced, multi-year family engagement track offered at select St. Louis Public Schools that requires participating teachers to commit to at least 150 hours of additional family engagement work per school year, including 40+ home visits, parent-teacher workshops, and monthly meetings.

Quantifiable outcome

• Home Works students meet academic growth goals at rates 60% higher than their peers.
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers16 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• GreenLeaf MarketminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 2020GreenLeaf Market, a locally owned grocery store located two blocks from Patrick Henry Elementary, partnered with Home Works on a pilot attendance improvement program. Parents who achieved perfect attendance were rewarded with $10 gift cards to GreenLeaf Market, with the business donating half of all gift card costs. GreenLeaf's mission is to bring fresh food to food desert areas in North St. Louis and has brought over 100 new jobs to the area.
• Zee Bee MarketminorGTM or Marketing PartnerZee Bee Market in Maplewood, MO hosted a Wine and Cheese Social in celebration of Teacher Appreciation Week and donated 15% of all in-store and online sales to Home Works during a designated period. The retailer carries fair-trade, artisan-made products and has partnered with Home Works for multiple give-back events.
• Target CircleminorGTM or Marketing PartnerHome Works was selected to participate in Target Circle's Q3 2024 Community Giving Program, allowing Target Circle members to cast votes directing Target's charitable donations to Home Works. Members cast votes through the Target app by selecting Home Works as their nonprofit of choice.
• Edward JonesminorGTM or Marketing PartnerEdward Jones volunteer Jermaine Pettis has been actively involved with Home Works, volunteering at Family Dinners and Family Learning Workshops. Edward Jones provides employee volunteer support to Home Works community events.
• Delmar DivineminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHome Works moved into Delmar Divine, a collaborative nonprofit co-working space in St. Louis designed to break down nonprofit silos and foster cross-sector collaboration. The relocation supports Home Works' core value of collaboration.
• Goshen Education ConsultingcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerGoshen Education Consulting conducts independent, third-party evaluations of Home Works' program outcomes and student growth data. They also collaborated on the development of Home Works' three-year strategic plan in 2026, conducting anonymous community listening sessions with teachers, families, administrators, staff, volunteers, and board members.
• Nick Schnelle PhotographyminorOthersNick Schnelle is a photographer whose work is featured on the Home Works website.
• Dan Duffy ProductionminorOthersDan Duffy Production provided videography services for Home Works, as credited on the website.
• Coaction CollectiveminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDiana Suarez of Coaction Collective provided strategic consulting support, contributing expertise in the family engagement space to the Home Works team during summer planning for 2026-27 school year.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• National Parent Teacher Association (PTA): Nationwide parent-engagement membership organization in K-12 schools — the most established incumbent in the parent-engagement-in-schools space against which Home Works differentiates on depth and structure.
• StriveTogether: Cradle-to-career network operator that works with school districts and community partners on outcomes including attendance and academic growth — overlaps with Home Works on outcomes metrics but operates at a community-systems level.
• Reading Partners: National nonprofit literacy program delivered through partner schools — comparable K-12 school-embedded model, though focused on tutoring rather than family engagement.
• Casey Family Programs: Large foundation focused on child and family well-being that funds family-engagement and K-12-adjacent work — comparable at the funder and policy level rather than direct service delivery.
• Reach Out and Read: National nonprofit that partners with pediatricians to promote literacy and parent-child reading — comparable on the parent-engagement-in-child-development axis and competes for similar family-literacy philanthropic funding.

Regional players

• Wyman Center: St. Louis-area youth-development nonprofit operating in the same regional ecosystem as Home Works, with overlapping school partners and donor base — a regional rather than national adjacency.

Direct peers

• HIPPY (Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters): Evidence-based parent-involvement program that empowers parents to teach preschool-age children at home — a strong adjacency on parent-led home learning, though pre-K rather than K-12.
• Flamboyan Foundation: Family-engagement nonprofit best known for teacher home-visit work in Washington, D.C. and beyond — competes for the same family-engagement philanthropic dollars and serves similar K-12 district customers.
• Family Engagement Lab: Operates ShareLearning, a text-message-based family-engagement platform used by K-12 schools and districts — overlaps with Home Works on the family-engagement-in-K-12 category, though delivered through a different (tech) channel.
• Parent Teacher Home Visits (PTHV): National network that explicitly trains teachers to conduct structured home visits — the closest direct functional peer to Home Works, operating across multiple states with a similar relationship-centered model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/homeworksvisit
• Instagraminstagram.com/homeworksvisit
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/homeworksvisitstl

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about HOME WORKS!