Parents as Teachers

Vision

All children will learn, grow, and develop to realize their full potential.

Mission

To provide the information, support and encouragement parents need to help their children develop optimally during the crucial early years of life.

Core Values

The work of Parents as Teachers is grounded in these basic beliefs:

  • Parents are their children’s first and most influential teachers.
  • The early years of a child’s life are critical for optimal development and provide the foundation for success in school and life.

Established and emerging research should be the foundation of parent education and family support curricula, training, material and services.

  • All young children and their families deserve the same opportunities to succeed, regardless of any demographic, geographic or economic considerations.
  • An understanding and appreciation of the history and traditions of diverse cultures is essential in serving families.

What is the Parents As Teachers Program?

Parents as Teachers (PAT) is an early childhood parent education and family support program that serves families from pregnancy until the child enters kindergarten. The program provides parents with child development information and parenting support.

Did you know?

Children who participate in PAT:

  • Are more advanced at age 3 in language, social development, problem solving and other cognitive abilities.
  • Score higher on kindergarten readiness tests.
  • Score higher on standardized measures.
  • Show better school readiness at the start of kindergarten.
  • Achieve higher kindergarten grades.
  • Require fewer remedial education placements in first grade.

Home Visits

Parent Educators make regular visits to the homes of participating families. During these visits, Parent Educators provide helpful information on observing and encouraging the child’s development. Information is shared in the form of handouts and developmentally appropriate materials, and honest and frank conversations between parents and the Parent Educator.

Developmental Screenings

During home visits or at a parent’s request, children are screened for hearing, vision, language, dental, nutrition, motor, intellectual and social development. These screenings can help parents identify any potential concern before it becomes an obstacle to the child’s development. If additional help is required, the Parents as Teachers staff will provide referrals to services in the community.

Group Meetings

At monthly meetings, parents have the opportunity to meet with experts about early childhood development or enjoy parent/child activities.

Resources

The Parent Educator helps link families to other community resources and services.

Mountain Grove PAT Program

The Mountain Grove Parents as Teachers (PAT) program helps parents. Being a parent is a hard job, a complicated job and sometimes a lonely job. And, it may be the most important job parents will ever have.

Right from the start, the Mountain Grove School District Parent Educators give parents the knowledge and the skills to do a good job. As their child’s first teachers, parents can make a difference.

Parents as Teachers helps reduce the stress and increase the pleasure of being a parent. The free, voluntary Parents as Teachers program is designed to help district families with children from birth to age 5.

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