The Parents as Teachers program at Fair Grove supports families with children from prenatal age to kindergarten entry by offering at-home visits, developmental screenings, group activities, and important resources.
The program helps families understand early childhood development and prepare their children for long term success in school.
The parents as teachers (PAT) program is a free early childhood development support system available to all Fair Grove families. It is built around four main components; personal visits, group connections, developmental screenings, and access to helpful resources. These elements work together to help families understand their child’s development and prepare them for school.
Pre-K Secretary Tammy Lucas has been part of the program since 2003. She stated PAT is available to all Fair Grove Children making it accessible to any family in the district. Lucas explained that her work involves meeting with families and helping children reach age appropriate developmental milestones.
Lucas said her favorite part is, “…working with the kids and parents to help them reach milestones and help them with school readiness.”
Lucas described several key pieces of the program. “We do yearly developmental screenings, personal visits with activities based on the age of the child, and we also offer group meetings,” she said. Lucas also shared that PAT has resources for children who may need extra developmental support.
Over the years Lucas has served as a parent educator and now also supervises the program. She noted that one of her favorite parts of working with the program is getting to know the parents in the district and working with the children.
Curriculum and communications director, Chalise Shockley, had been involved in PAT for eight years. She explained that the program is designed to partner a parent educator with each family. Shockley stated,“We meet with parents and caregivers, share activities they can do at home, and help track each child’s development.”
Shockley’s role includes conducting personal visits, performing developmental screenings, offering learning activities, planning educational events, keeping documentation up to date, and connecting families with services they may need. She noted that scheduling can be challenging because, “families are also busy,” and balancing the program with other school responsibilities can make timing difficult but they try their hardest to make everything work out.
Through the combined work of Lucas and Shockley the program continues to assist Fair Grove families with early learning guidance and resources.
