![[Table of Contents]](/icons/up.gif){kind=icon}
Missouri’s Parents as Teachers (PAT) program. Launched in 1981, the PAT program has been replicated in 46 other states and in Washington, D.C. The program’s goal is to enhance parents’ ability to nurture and teach their children from birth through age 5. PAT provides home visits, group meetings for parents, regular monitoring of children’s health and development, and referral to social services and other agencies when necessary. PAT children display significantly enhanced language, problem solving, and social development by age 3, and they score higher on standardized reading and math tests in early elementary grades. PAT parents are more confident in their parenting skills and more involved in their children’s education. For more information, contact the Parents as Teachers National Center, 10176 Corporate Square Drive, Suite 230, St. Louis, MO 63132, 314-432-4330, http://www.patnc.org.
HIPPY (Home Instruction Program for Preschool Youngsters). In the HIPPY program, which is designed to increase parents’ self-esteem and to improve their children’s cognitive abilities, a paraprofessional meets with parents of 4- and 5-year-olds to help them teach school readiness skills to their children. Parents also meet together for discussions of lesson topics and parenting issues. According to research, teachers rated HIPPY children as better adapted to the classroom and more likely to do well in school than non-HIPPY children. Currently, there are centers in 26 states and in Washington, DC, with 31 sites serving about 6,000 families in Arkansas alone. For more information, contact HIPPY, Teachers College, Columbia University, Box 113, 525 West 120th Street, New York, NY 10027, 212-678-3000, http://www.tc.columbia.edu/.
Family Literacy. Started by the National Center for Family Literacy in 1991 and funded by the Toyota Motor Corporation, the Toyota Families for Learning Program is a comprehensive approach to family literacy that combines adult education, parenting education, early childhood education, and literacy development. Both parents and their preschool-age children attend school each day. Many of the parents are high school dropouts who are unemployed when they join the program. Parents participate in adult literacy training and parent support networks. In addition, time is set aside for structured parent-child interactions that demonstrate how playtime can be an opportunity for learning. Parents also help with the day-to-day operation of the school, which provides job training while setting the stage for long-term involvement in their children’s schools. On assessments of early childhood development, the children show great progress, matching or exceeding national averages. Located in fifteen sites around the country, this family literacy program supports learning for both parents and children. For more information, contact the National Center for Family Literacy, 325 West Main Street, Waterfront Plaza, Suite 200, Louisville, KY 40202, 502-584-1133.
-###-
