Since the district’s Parents as Teachers affiliate feeds area children into the school system, it’s often the first to see trends like this. Indeed, last year Parents as Teachers affiliates across the country served almost 30,000 families who speak Spanish as their primary language and more than 20,000 families with at least one parent who is foreign-born.

Immigrant and refugee cultures have a unique impact on parenting. Parents as Teachers provides resources to help professionals support all families as their children learn, grow and develop to realize their full potential.

Raising young children who are healthy and school-ready under these conditions can be challenging. That’s where Parents as Teachers comes in. To better equip parent educators, those who bring support directly to parents through home visits, Parents as Teachers offers a number of professional training opportunities that take a deeper look at issues like poverty and other struggles families face.

We recently offered parent educators the opportunity to experience a month in poverty through a poverty simulation presented at our national conference by Michigan State University Extension. Participants found it deeply impacted them and opened their eyes to new ways they can support families in their communities.

The not-so-good news?

• Almost 20% of those 90-94 years old live in a nursing home.
• 85% have physical limitations; two-thirds have difficulty walking or climbing stairs.
• Their annual median income is just $14,760.

The average American has about 40 working years to earn enough to support himself and his family, send his children to college, and save enough to to live (possibly in a nursing home) for the 30 years after retirement.

Getting the education tomorrow’s jobs will require is essential. Early childhood programs like Parents as Teachers give kids a leg up by screening for hearing/vision/developmental delays and assessing their social-emotional readiness to learn. 

Don’t your children deserve that?

Creative Commons photo credit top and bottom.

These are the trained professionals who:

• give families the education and support they need to promote their children’s healthy development and prepare them for success in school.
• help parents understand what to expect during each stage of development and how to promote the best development in their children.
• demonstrate respect for the unique needs of families and understand the influence of diverse family systems, culture and socioeconomic status in child dvelpoment and school readiness.
• help parents establish healthy and safe environments and parenting pratices that allow children to learn, grow and develop to realize theri full potential.
• strengthen families by building partnerships, connecting parents to  supports, and foster parent engagement and leadership in schools and community organizations.

These are the professionals who supported more than 350,000 children and their families last year…visiting families wherever they live to ensure children are safe, healthy and ready to learn.

Parents as Teachers is thankful for parent educators willing to visit families on farms and on reservations, in big cities and small towns, in the Arctic Circle and on tropical islands, in child care centers and homeless shelters…everywhere families live.

Thank you, parent educators. All of you. 

How does one acquire parenting skills?
Most of us parent the way we were parented. But those without good role models are left to find their own way. The lucky ones find their way to Parents as Teachers.

Parents as Teachers is the trusted resource professionals and the families they serve turn to for parenting skill-building. Through a proven home visiting model, these trained professionals help families build strong protective factors that promote parental resilience, create social connections to provide emotional support, and yes…increase knowledge of parenting and child development.

 Being a parent is hard work.
Parents as Teachers has your back.

www.ParentsAsTeachers.org

Show up.

That’s the message Hedy Chang gave an audience at this week’s Parents as Teachers Conference. School success goes hand in hand with good attendance, she said. Starting as early as kindergarten, too many absences can cause children to fall behind in school. How many is too many?

Take Our Poll When kids miss 10% (or about 18 days) of school, they start to do poorly academically. Missing 18 or more days is considered chronic absence. But students can still fall behind even if they miss just a day or two every few weeks. Even being late to school can lead to poor attendance.

Building attendance is a life skill. Eventually, an employer will expect your child to show up to work! Building a habit of good attendance early will help your child do better in school.

Here’s what you can do:

• Know when school starts.
• Set regular bedtime and morning routines.
• Don’t let your child stay home even when s/he is not truly sick.
• Have a plan B for getting your child to school if something unexpected comes up.
• Avoid other appointments and trips when school is in session.
• Set a good example! Show up for scheduled appointments on time yourself!

Creative Commons classroom photo credit

Gieselman family

The Gieselman family of Lathrop, Mo. is one such family.

As a teen mother, Michelle was inexperienced. In a high school parenting class, a Parents as Teachers parent educator came in to speak, prompting Michelle to schedule home visits.

“At six months, I didn’t realize my son should have been pushing on his arms and holding his upper torso up,” she said. But once her parent educator began checking for developmental benchmarks, Michelle was able to have a more meaningful dialogue with her pediatrician.

The parent educator assigned to her second child reaffirmed her faith in Parents as Teachers. “We had just moved to a small town; I didn’t have any way to socialize my sons,” Michelle said. Her parent educator introduced her to other stay-at-home moms who organized weekly play dates for their children. “I probably would’ve moved if it wasn’t for that,” Michelle said. “Parents as Teachers parent educators are the most wonderful people!”

We agree, Michelle! Here’s to the 10,000 Parents as Teachers parent educators and the families they serve. Thank you for all you do!

Celebrate National Parents as Teachers Day!

What about early childhood professionals? Isn’t ongoing learning and continued professional growth just as important for those who work with little children and their families as it is for health professionals and financial planners?

Parents as Teachers is about to kick off its 20th annual early childhood conference. Close to 700 early childhood professionals will be attending. Sure, they’ll learn about autism, music and play, and tips for feeding toddlers. But they’ll also benefit just as much from the networking that goes on between sessions.

Just like the office water cooler, national conferences bring folks together who might otherwise not meet. That, says Erin Vonder Bruegge, Parents as Teachers conference planner, is one of the greatest benefits of face-to-face conferences. Hearing the questions other attendees pose and sharing best practices, resources and contacts over lunch or between workshops is where the real learning takes place.

Richard Wollenberger, Parents as Teachers IT director, agrees. He just returned from attending a national IT conference where he picked up innovative ways others are using the same CRM system Parents as Teachers is about to implement…along with tips and suggestions based on their experience. Invaluable advice!

Employers who limit access to this kind of professional growth by cutting professional development budgets or by restricting out-of-state travel are doing their employees a disservice. Professional growth and development isn’t a perk; it’s work.

Scott L. Hippert

Parents as Teachers National Center Board of Directors has named SCOTT L. HIPPERT as the new president and CEO of Parents as Teachers. Hippert brings extensive experience in early childhood development and public policy advocacy to the role. He was selected following a national search to succeed Sue Stepleton, who retired as president and CEO in June. Hippert will begin as president and CEO in January.

Cheryle Dyle-Palmer

Interim President and CEO Cheryle Dyle-Palmer will assume the position of executive vice president and COO at that time.

“Scott is a true champion of high-quality early childhood education and is dedicated to building strong communities through effective early childhood initiatives,” said Karabelle Pizzigati, chair of the Parents as Teachers board of directors. “We are excited to have him join Parents as Teachers and guide us in our mission of ensuring children grow up healthy, safe and ready to succeed.”

As president and CEO, Hippert will lead one of the most trusted resources for parent education organizations and professionals who serve the needs of more than 300,000 families across the country and throughout the world. Parents as Teachers helps organizations and professionals work with families during the critical early years of a child’s life and is a proven model of parenting education and support for families.

“I thoroughly enjoyed directing early childhood development initiatives in Virginia and Minnesota. With Parents as Teachers, I am thrilled to have the opportunity to be an advocate for children and parents nationwide,” said Hippert.

Hippert comes to Parents as Teachers from his position as president of the Virginia Early Childhood Foundation where he has provided statewide leadership to Virginia’s early childhood development initiatives. Prior to that position he served as vice president and COO of Ready 4 K, an organization focused on building advocacy for public policies in school readiness and early education in Minnesota. Hippert also served as vice president of communications for Family & Children’s Service in Minnesota. Originally from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Hippert is returning to St. Louis, having served as director of admissions and public relations at Aquinas Institute of Theology in the mid-1990s. He is active in the National Smart Start State Leaders Network and the Partnership for America’s Economic Success. Hippert holds a bachelor’s degree in communication arts from the University of Northern Iowa and a Master of Divinity degree from the Saint Paul Seminary School of Divinity of the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota.

In a New York Times editorial, two-time Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Nicholas D. Kristof, did just that! In a piece titled “Occupy the Classroom,” Kristof  suggests that quality early childhood education addresses the “structural inequality that many young children never get the skills to compete.”

He states, “One common thread, whether I’m reporting on poverty in New York City or in Sierra Leone, is that a good education tends to be the most reliable escalator out of poverty. Whether in America or Africa, disadvantaged kids often don’t get a chance to board that escalator.”

Wrong way

He cites scholars and economists, including James Heckman who spoke at the Missouri Business Leaders Summit sponsored by Parents as Teachers, who note the economic value of early childhood education. This isn’t new information; we’ve known this for decades. The question is, do we have the collective will to reach out to families and close the achievement gap—not just at kindergarten but throughout life—for disadvantaged children?

Will you spread this message and help create a movement for social justice for children?

Photo credit: xcode’s photostream under Creative Commons license