For 20 years, the Kansas
State Department of Education has administered the Parents as Teachers
(PAT) program, a unique and evidence-based home visitation program recognizing
parents as their child’s first and most important teacher.
Authorization for
program:
K.S.A. 72-3603 et
seq. the Parent Education Program authorizes school districts to
receive grants to provide expectant parents and parents of infants and
toddlers (definition changed in 2008 to any child under the age of eligibility
for school attendance) with advice, assistance, resource materials,
guidance, parenting skills, positive approach to discipline and development
of a positive self-esteem.
History and Goals:
As a unique and proven two-generational program, Kansas Parents
as Teachers (PAT) is designed to provide evidence-based parent
education that builds on family goals and strengths to enhance children’s
early learning. Kansas PAT began in 1990 with 92 school districts ($980,000)
and has expanded to more than 200 school districts ($7.5 million) serving
15,197 families and 19,314 children in 2008-09.
Kansas Parents as Teachers is a Partnership:
Local school districts contributed
$5.8 M to match $7.5 M in state funds providing PAT to more families
in communities.
Kansas Healthy Families America
and many Early Head Start programs blend the Parents as Teachers model
with their program.
Parents
As Teachers has four goals:
1. Increase parent
knowledge of early childhood development and improve parenting practices.
Parents As Teachers
parents were found to engage in effective child-rearing practices, such
as enrolling their children in quality child care, leading to children’s
increased school readiness and later school success. The length of Parents
As Teachers enrollment also had a significant effect on positive parenting
practices (Zigler, Pfannenstiel & Seitz, 2008).
Parents As Teachers
parents read more to their children, use more techniques to support
book/print concepts and have more children’s books in the home (Albritton,
Klotz & Roberson, 2004; Research Training Associates, 2006; Zigler,
Pfannenstiel & Seitz, 2008).
2. Provide
early detection of developmental delays and health issues.
At age 3, Parents As
Teachers children were more likely to be fully immunized for their given
age and were less likely to be treated for injury in the previous year
(Wagner, Iida & Spiker, 2001).
Based on Kansas School Readiness Data,
children whose families participated in PAT:
- Have a lower Body Mass Index
(BMI) at Kindergarten Entry
- Are more likely to be fully
immunized at age 2
- Are more likely to be identified
at an earlier age if there are health or developmental concerns resulting
in referral to school and community services for early intervention
3. Reduce the incidence
of child abuse and neglect
Parent educators, using
the PAT curriculum, provide parents with knowledge and realistic expectations
of age-appropriate developmental milestones and behaviors, information
about parenting topics and ways that parents can support their children’s
development and learning.
4. Increase children’s
school readiness and school success
Participating parents
were more likely to regard their school district as responsive to their
children’s needs. (Pfannenstiel & Seltzer, 1985, 1989).
Based on Kansas School Readiness Data,
children whose families participated in PAT:
- Score higher in symbolic
development, math concepts, written language and oral communication
- Are more likely to have parents
who read to them daily resulting in higher school readiness scores at
Kindergarten and 3rd grade.