Kansas Parents As Teachers group seeks participants

A local early learning program has several openings for any parents of young children interested in preparing their youngsters for school.

Focused on child development, the Parents as Teachers program is offered through the Southeast Kansas Education Service Center. It is free and voluntary and open to parents with children prenatal to age 3. Kids exit out of the program at age 3, said Cassandra Elsworth, early childhood director at the Southeast Kansas Education Service Center in Girard.

"It's an educational program," Parents as Teachers Parent Educator Angie Kemmerer said. "We have group meetings, set up play dates ... It's a good resource for parents."

The program is designed to provide practical and timely information to all families, including single parents, first-time parents and expectant parents, according to a program flyer. It serves a total of 51 children -- six of which are funded by USD 235 in Uniontown and the rest through a Kansas Children's Cabinet Smart Start Grant with matching funds from the Kansas Department of Education. Space is available for 45 children in Bourbon County.

USD 234 had been paying $4,400 for 15 children, but had to cut that due to budget constraints, Elsworth said.

Curriculum used is research and evidence-based. Staff hired by the education service center have four-year degrees and maintain their certifications through the national Parents as Teachers Center in St. Louis.

With funding from the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and The Danforth Foundation, Parents as Teachers began in 1981 in Missouri as a pilot project for first-time parents of newborns, the organization's website said. Recognizing the program's benefits and cost effectiveness, the Missouri legislature provided state funding in 1985 to implement Parents as Teachers programs in all Missouri school districts. Since 1985, Parents as Teachers has expanded to all 50 states and seven other countries, the site said.

"Children who participate in the program do better in their elementary school years than children that don't," Kemmerer said.

Evaluations of the program show that PAT parents are more knowledgeable about child-rearing practices and child development, are more confident in their parenting skills, engage in more language and literacy promoting behaviors with their children, and are more involved in their children's schooling, the flyer said.

Assessments also show that PAT children at age 3 are more advanced than comparison children in language, social development, problem-solving, and other cognitive abilities.

Program components, according to the flyer, include:

* Personal visits by parent educators who share age-appropriate child development information, address parenting concerns, and engage the family in activities. Elsworth said staff offer advice, tell parents what could be coming up next and what's behind things, but the parents make any decisions.

The visits also give staff a chance to offer parents some positive reinforcement, Elsworth said.

* Group meetings that provide opportunities to share information about parenting issues and child development.

* Annual developmental, health, vision and hearing screenings.

* Play groups that give parents and children the chance to join other parents and children for a playtime that provides a variety of activities that enhance all areas of development.

* A resource network in which parent educators help families identify and connect with needed resources and overcome barriers to accessing services.

* Subscriptions to the monthly PAT newsletter and a parenting magazine.

* Resource centers which give families access to toys, videos and parent materials.

For more information or to participate in the program, contact the Southeast Kansas Education Service Center at Greenbush at (800) 554-3412, or Kemmerer at (620) 224-4816.