‘Parents As Teachers’ Prepares Children for Success in School

Parenting is likely the most difficult job there is. Part of what makes it so challenging is the complexity of it – parents have to play many roles including nurse, psychologist, entertainer, chef, maid, referee, and accountant to name a few. But one constant role that parents play in their children’s lives is that of teacher.

Carroll County Public Schools, through the Judy Center Partnership, is working to help parents understand how to best teach their kids in the early learning years through the Parents as Teachers (PAT) program.

PAT is a national organization that works with parents of children between birth and age five by offering trainings and programs that help parents understand how to best teach their kids during the early, critical stages of life.

According to the PAT website, Parents as Teachers developed its evidence-based home visiting model more than 25 years ago by incorporating the best science on child development available at the time. Over the years, the premise of its four-component model has remained solid and the core values upon which Parents as Teachers was built remain unchanged.

Director of Minority Achievement and Intervention Programs for Carroll County Public Schools, Karen Ganjon, and Coordinator of the Judy Center, Susan Mitchell, both work to advocate and promote the program in Carroll County.

“This program has been extremely successful in contributing to the rise in school readiness,” Ganjon said.

Initially implemented in June 2005, the PAT program has proven to be effective in increasing the number of children who are fully ready for kindergarten as measured by the Maryland Model for School Readiness. The program uses components to strengthen families and to promote positive parent-child interactions so that children are healthy, safe and ready to learn.

According to Ganjon, in 2009, Carroll County’s Maryland Model of School Readiness results were first in the state at 96 percent.

Also, when looking at all of the kindergarten students assessed, those students who participated in the PAT program saw an increase in the Maryland Model of School Readiness Work Sampling skills from 65 percent readiness in 2009 to 89 percent in 2010.

The Judy Center initially started with one certified PAT Parent Educator in 2005.

“During the spring of 2007, the Local Management Board provided funding for 27 staff from several agencies to be trained in the research-based curriculum,” Mitchell said.

The organization recruits families in a variety of ways, ranging from fairs to pediatrician recommendations, but the most effective recruiting happens via word-of-mouth through schools, Head Start, social service agencies and more.

The Judy Center Partnership tracks and accepts referrals for families once they have enrolled. Parent educators, who have been trained by the PAT organization, who have an opening on their list, then begin to work with the families. Many times, this depends on where in the county the family is and the information that is provided on the referral sheet.

County-wide events are hosted by the Judy Center many times throughout the year encouraging family involvement and early childhood education.

Ganjon said the Judy Center has hosted family involvement activities such as Big Truck Night, puppet shows, and participated in the Children's Festival and Read Across America. She added that families are invited to participate in weekly learning/playgroups to support school readiness. The groups are called Come Learn With Me and are offered at four locations in the county. Nineteen groups currently operate on a weekly basis and are facilitated by early childhood teachers.

The Carroll County Judy Center’s PAT is partially funded through a United Way Grant and a $19,800 grant from the PNC Foundation.

The Judy Center of Carroll County was also just awarded the Judith Hoyer Innovative Spirit Award for its dedication and success in school readiness preparation.

For more information regarding the Judy Center Partnership program, visit http://www.ccpsfoundation.org and http://www.parentsasteachers.org.