Parents As Teachers to expand services Available to families with 3-to-5-year old children

Funds from the tobacco company lawsuit settlement are being earmarked for Parents As Teachers programs in Missouri ­ including Pattonville's - to expand services available to families with children ages 3 to 5.

Parents As Teachers (PAT) is a free, voluntary program designed to help parents give their children (prenatal through kindergarten entry) the best possible start in life. The program is built on the philosophies that babies are born to learn and that parents are their children's first and most influential teachers. The program offers personal visits by parent educators, group meetings and health and developmental screenings. PAT also conducts kindergarten screenings for vision, hearing and development.

Previously, federal funding enabled local PAT programs to provide families with children ages 3 to 5 with one visit per year, unless the family was considered to have greater need for more frequent visits. A family with greater needs could receive up to three visits from a parent educator per year. The new funds now allow PAT the opportunity to visit families with children in this age bracket three times a year and high needs families up to 25 times per year. Families with children birth to 3 years of age can receive up to five visits per year. High needs families with children in this age bracket can receive up to 25 visits per year.

A family is considered "high needs" when it is has one or more of the following factors: teen parents; parents and/or children with disabilities; low income; family crisis such as unemployment, chemical dependency, numerous relocations, involvement with mental health or social service agencies; parents for whom English is a second language; single-parent households; foster parents; or involvement with correctional systems.

"It has been reported that independent evaluations in Missouri show PAT parents are effective in their role as their child's first and most influential teachers," said Laurie Wenzel, Pattonville director of early childhood. "In addition, there is a significant cost savings to school districts by reduced placements in special education, fewer retentions, and less remedial education.

Pattonville currently has 13 parent educators that serve the district's families with young children. For more information, call the Pattonville Parents As Teachers' office at 213-8105.