Parents as Teachers

Welcome to Parents as Teachers!
Isabel Smith

                          

Vision Statement: All children will learn, grow, and develop to realize their full potential

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

GISD-Parents as Teachers is a home-school partnership designed to give children the best possible start in life and to support parents in their roles as their children's first teachers. PAT is a primary prevention program designed to maximize children's overall development during the first developmental problems which might interfere with learning. The PAT program provides parents with the latest neuroscience training (how to incorporate it into their everyday parenting) and support services that enable them to enhance their children's intellectual, language, physical, and social development.

This program is strongly recommended for first time parents, the curriculum can be used from pre-natal to age three. This program is 100% funded through our school system although it is not state mandated and is free to anyone that lives within Graham school district.

As a PAT participant you will receive personalized once a month home visits by a certified parent educator, specially trained in child development to help you give your child a great start, once a month Group Meetings with other parents with topics that interest you, once a month parent and child (play & learn) times, periodic screenings to ensure that your child has no undetected learning, sensory (hearing & vision) or developmental problems, and a network of resources to help you with special services you may need that are beyond the scope of PAT.

For more information please contact Isabel Smith, director for Graham ISD-Parents as Teachers, at 549-4069 or ask our Pioneer Elementary office staff.

LONG-TERM OUTCOMES

Child will have improved school readiness adn school success through enhanced:
Cognitive abilities and general knowledge
Language and literacy skills
Social-emotional development
Motor skills
Physical well-being
Ability to learn
Academic achievement

Child will have fewer:
Unidentified and unremediated developmental delays
Unaddressed vision/hearing/health issues
School-age placements in special education

Parent will be more involved in school and community, and will show improved:
Involvement in child's education and learning
Support of child school attendance
Parent-teacher relationships