By Dewey Terrill and Dr. Ferrell Miller

JC Post

Parents as Teachers is a national research-based education and family support program that serves parents with children infant to 5 years of age. It provides support and information on the development of the child and prepares the child for Kindergarten.

Representatives of the USD 475 Parents as Teachers program, Brianna Vacanti and Sue Gwaltney spoke to the JC Breakfast Optimist Club Wednesday morning.

Vacanta stated, “The screenings used in the program helps determine the tools parents need to work with their child,

A unique feature of the program is that para-educators, who have a preferred Bachelor’s degree in early childhood education, go into the homes of families that qualify. Those para-educators work with parents and the child or children to engage both in activities that help identify benchmarks of mental and / or social growth or lack of growth. “All families have strengths. This is not a program that tells parents how to raise their child, but provides parents with resources and activities to increase mental and social engagement of their child. ”

To identify parents who may need services, representatives of the program attend community events, receive referrals from pediatricians and “Delivering Change,” the Health Department and parents who have been or are currently involved in the program. There is a Parents as Teachers Facebook page with contacts and messaging available for more information. Financial support of the program comes from an Early Childhood Block Grant and a Parents as Teacher grant. The telephone number for Parents as Teachers is 785-717-6900.