Join the Pyle Buddy Family Program (host-family sign-up)

Help Pyle newcomers feel at home by signing up as a Pyle Buddy Family Program host family. We will match your family with a newcomer family by the Pyle children's grades and genders and other criteria that may include neighborhood, Pyle team and native language. When a match is made, a grade-level coordinator will tell you how to contact your assigned newcomer family. (Note to families of incoming 6th-graders: Yes, you may be "new" to Pyle but if you're coming from a school in the Whitman cluster, you're not a "newcomer" for Pyle Buddy Family Program purposes. Please enroll as a host family to help 6th-grade families from outside the Whitman cluster.)

Host Family Responsibilities

Your responsibilities as host family parents:
Phone ... the buddy family parents at least 3 times in the first 6 weeks after being matched.
Get together  ... family-to-family - at your home, at a park or other public space, or some other location.
Follow up... with any assistance that seems appropriate - restaurant recommendations, neighborhood shortcuts, invitations, check-in phone calls and emails, etc.
Host family children are asked simply to extend a friendly hand to the newcomers; introducing them around, looking for them at lunch and during Interact, and familiarizing them with Pyle customs and routines.

Keep in Mind

Outside school, you may be this family's first Pyle contact. Some cultures are especially shy about initiating calls, reaching out with questions, or suggesting or agreeing to social occasions.

  1. Be amiably persistent. Make clear that you welcome questions and requests.
  2. Know that questions may run the gamut. As an international newcomer parent wrote:
    Volunteers may only have to help once - a phone call, a coffee, an offer to take someone to the local library to use the internet, or to the hardware store for a widget ... this can make a huge difference. New arrivals are often overwhelmed - no email hookup, no car, and furniture hasn't arrived yet, and by the way, where do they buy the poster board for their kid's project?
  3. Help your buddies make friends. Invite them to join a group going to the ice rink or the movies. Tell them about after-school and weekend activities and let them know about groups like Girl Scouts, sports leagues and book groups.
  4. In school, newcomer students may feel at sea. Remind your children and their friends to seek them out - saving them a spot at the lunch table, for instance.
  5. Contact your grade-level coordinator with ideas, suggestions, and any questions that arise.

Grade-Level Coordinators and Other Buddy Coordinators

(to be updated in Fall 2009)

Volunteer Now!

To volunteer to be a buddy host family, fill out this form. (Not every host family will receive buddy assignments right away; it all depends on supply and demand.) This form may be submitted electronically or physically printed and mailed to: Pyle Buddy Family Program, Pyle Guidance Office, 6311 Wilson Lane, Bethesda, MD 20817.

Parent 1Parent 2
Name 
Street Address 
 Town, State, Zip 
Email 
Day phone 
Evening phone 
Cell phone 

Children
Full Name Gender Grade as of
September 2009		 School Pyle Team
(if known)		 Special Interests
Girl
Boy
Girl
Boy
Girl
Boy
Girl
Boy

Number of families you can host:
Neighborhood elementary school:
Fluent languages:
Optional comments and/or background information (overseas residential experience, parent special skills/interests, etc.):

Date submitted: 

To Update

To make updates or fix errors in a previously submitted form, refill the form in its entirety and resubmit.

To Withdraw

To withdraw from the program, enter just the parent-contact information and add a note in the optional comments area with a sentence explaining that you want to stop participation.
Questions regarding the Pyle Buddy Family Program may be sent to courtsevere@verizon.net.
Technical questions about this form may be sent to courtsevere@verizon.net.
This form was last modified: 08/17/09 09:27:40