Parents as Teachers
Parents as Teachers is an international early childhood parent education and family support program serving families from pregnancy to kindergarten.The program is designed to enhance child development and school achievement through parent education. It uses a universal access model and family participation is voluntary.
Families with children up to 5 years old.
Recognizing that all families can benefit from support, Parents as Teachers participants come in all configurations, from all socio-economic levels, and from rural, urban and suburban communities. The program is adaptable to fit community needs.
Parents as Teachers Born to Learn program model includes four core services:
- Personal visits—Personal visits (monthly, bi-weekly, or weekly) are the major service delivery component. During these visits, parent educators share age-appropriate child development information with parents, help them learn to observe their own child, address their parenting concerns, and engage the family in activities that provide meaningful parent/child interaction.
- Group meetings—Parent group meetings provide opportunities to share information about parenting issues and child development. Parents learn from and support each other, observe their children with other children, and practice their parenting skills.
- Screening—Periodic screening for early identification of developmental delays or health, vision, and hearing problems provides regular review of each child's developmental progress, identifies strengths and abilities, as well as areas of concern that require referral for follow-up services, and increases parents' understanding of their child's development.
- Resource network—Parent educators help families identify and connect with needed resources and overcome barriers to accessing services. Programs take an active role in establishing ongoing collaborative relationships with other organizations that serve families.
Parents as Teachers National Center offers Born to Learn Institutes throughout the United States on an ongoing basis and on-site by special arrangement for groups of 12 or more. This core training is designed for professionals who will return to their communities ready to implement a Parents as Teachers Born to Learn model.
In addition to these Institutes, Parents as Teachers National Center also offers professional development opportunities for professionals who work with special populations. All are comprehensive two- or four-day sessions taught by instructors with expertise and focused experience working with the special population addressed in their training. Technical assistance is available upon request.
Parents as Teachers National Center, Inc.
Attn: Public Information Specialist
2228 Ball Drive
St. Louis, Mo. 63146
Phone: 314-432-4330 or 1-866-PAT4YOU (1-866-728-4968)
Fax: 314-432-8963
Email: info@parentsasteachers.org
Website: www.parentsasteachers.org
The cost of training for Parents as Teachers Born to Learn Institutes varies according to location and number of participants.
Parents as Teachers Birth-to-Three:
$595 for 12–19 participants
$495 for 20 or more participants,
$295 for the curriculum
Parents as Teachers for Preschool Age (2–5):
$595 for 12–19 participants
$495 for 20 or more participants,
$200 for the curriculum
Parents as Teachers Ages Three-to-Five
$300 for 12–19 participants
$225 for 20 or more participants,
$150 for the curriculum.
Program costs are estimated to be about $1,500 per family annually. Costs vary depending on service intensity, program location and availability of in-kind contributions.
The Parents as Teachers Born to Learn curriculum and training content are based on reliable and current research in the areas of child development, neuroscience and school readiness. The organization has a long history of independent evaluation demonstrating its positive impact on children and families. Evaluations also show how Parents as Teachers supports the No child Left Behind Act and general school readiness concerns. Most of what is known about the effects of the Parents as Teachers Born to Learn model comes from 13 outcome studies conducted since 1984. Outcome data have been collected on more than 16,000 children and parents. Outcomes from selected research studies demonstrate the model is achieving its goals and making a difference in the lives of children and families. Overall, evaluations of PAT show these general outcomes:
Parent Outcomes:
- PAT parents are more knowledgeable about child-rearing practices and child development.
- PAT parents are more confident in their parenting skills.
- PAT parents engage in more language- and literacy-promoting behaviors with their children.
- PAT parents are more involved in their children's schooling.
Child Outcomes:
- PAT children at age 3 are more advanced than comparison children in language, problem solving and other cognitive abilities, and social development.
- PAT children score higher on kindergarten readiness tests and on standardized measures of reading, math, and language in first through fourth grades.
Programs are required to submit an annual program report to Parents as Teachers National Center each year providing details on numbers and characteristics of families and children served, service delivery and program characteristics. This report can be completed online and automatically generates summary reports and graphs for local program use. The National Center also hosts a web-based service information management system, PATsim, available for an annual fee. Every three years programs are expected to conduct a self-assessment using the Parents as Teachers Standards and Self-Assessment Process. The standards provide detailed indicators for eight areas of service delivery and program management. There are no required outcome measurement tools at this time.
- Strengthening America’s Families Model Program
- Title V (OJJDP): Exemplary Program
Coates, D. (1994). Early childhood evaluation. Missouri: A report to the Parkway Board of Education.
Coates, D. (1997). Parents as Teachers program leads to elementary school success. Parkway School District News.
Coleman, M., Rowland, B., & Hutchins, B. (1997). Parents as Teachers: Policy implications for early school intervention. Paper presented at the 1997 annual meeting of the National Council on Family Relations, Arlington, VA, November, 1997.
Drazen, S. & Haust, M. (1993). Raising reading readiness in low-income children by parent education. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association, August, 1993.
Drazen, S. & Haust, M. (1996). Lasting academic gains from an early home visitation program. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association, August, 1996.
O’Brien, T., Garnett, D.M., & Proctor, K. (2002). Impact of the Parents as Teachers program. Canon City, CO (Freemont County) School Year 1999-2000.
Parents as Teachers National Center. (2005). 2003-2004 Parents as Teachers annual program report summary.
Pfannenstiel, J. (1998). New Parents as Teachers project: A follow-up investigation. Overland Park, KS: Research & Training Associates.
Pfannenstiel, J. (1999). School entry assessment project: Report of findings. Overland Park, KS: Research & Training Associates.
Pfannenstiel, J., Lambson, T., & Yarnell, V. (1991). Second wave study of the Parents as Teachers program. Overland Park, KS: Research & Training Associates.
Pfannenstiel, J., Lambson, T., & Yarnell, V. (1996). The Parents as Teachers program: Longitudinal follow-up to the second wave study. Overland Park, KS: Research & Training Associates. Available on-line at http://www.patnc.org/2ndWaveFollow-upReport.pdf.
Pfannenstiel, J. & Seltzer, D. (1985). Evaluation report: New Parents as Teachers project. Overland Park, KS: Research & Training Associates.
Pfannenstiel, J. & Seltzer, D. (1989). New Parents as Teachers: Evaluation of an early parent education program. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 4, 1–18.
Pfannenstiel, J. C., Seitz, V., & Zigler, E. (2002). Promoting school readiness: The role of the Parents as Teachers program. NHSA Dialog: A Research-to-Practice Journal for the Early Intervention Field, 6, 71-86.
Shaklee, H., Hardin, J., Clinton, T., & Demarest, D. (2003). Building literacy from the ground up. Boise, ID: University of Idaho Extension. Available on-line at http://www.parentsasteachers.org/atf/cf{7A832E5A-3E17-4576-8C7EF921E4ABDCA5}/ReportOfLiteracyContentAnalysis.pdf
Wagner, M. M. & Clayton, S. L. (1999). The Parents as Teachers program: results from two demonstrations. Future Child, 9(1), 91-115, 179-89. Available on-line at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10414012
Wagner, M., Iida, E., & Spiker, D. (2001). The multisite evaluation of the Parents as Teachers Home Visiting Program: Three-year findings from one community. Menlo Park, CA: SRI International. Available online at http://www.parentsasteachers.org/images/stories/documents/906_EBHVM.pdf
Wagner, M. & Spiker, D. (2001). Multisite Parents as Teachers evaluation: Experiences and outcomes for children and families. Menlo Park, CA: SRI International. Available on-line at http://www.sri.com/policy/cehs/early/pat.html.
