PAT helps prepare children

To the editor:I was delighted to see you highlight the need for quality early childhood education in Southeast Missouri, specifically in Cape Girardeau, in Wednesday's article "Breaking the cycle." All children, regardless of race or economic background, deserve the best possible preparation for success in kindergarten. This premise has been the very foundation of Parents as Teachers for almost 25 years.

Last week Cheryle Dyle-Palmer, chief operating officer of Parents as Teachers National Center, spoke at the Missouri Chamber of Commerce Leadership Summit in Cape Girardeau. Her goal was to raise awareness among the region's business community of the economic benefits of support for early childhood education.

Missouri is the only state in the nation to provide Parents as Teachers services to its residents at no charge, so I was quite surprised to see no mention of Parents as Teachers in your article.

This spring, new research was released showing that when preschool programs are coupled with Parents as Teachers participation, children are much more prepared for kindergarten. In fact, the added value of Parents as Teachers carried over even to third grade achievement. That same research indicated that poor children who participated with high intensity in Parents as Teachers and preschool programs were just as ready to enter kindergarten as their more affluent peers with no preschool or Parents as Teachers participation.

The success of our children is vital to the success and prosperity of our society. It is our belief that all children are born to learn.

SUSAN S. STEPLETON, President and CEO, Parents as Teachers National Center, St. Louis