Off to a good start

Bright-eyed Sophia opens and closes her tiny fingers, grasping for a chain of plastic letters dangling from her mother's hand. Sitting nearby on the floor, parent educator Stephanie Ellinger carefully watches the movements of the 4-month-old girl and advises the mother, Kathy Koester of Cape Girardeau, on playtime activities that encourage development of motor skills.

"Floor time is important," Ellinger says.

This is Ellinger's fourth home visit to check on Sophia since her birth.

It's all part of Missouri's Parents as Teachers program, which has become a national model for early childhood education programs. The program serves families from pregnancy until 3 years of age. In some school districts like Cape Girardeau and Jackson, the program serves children up to age 5.

Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt wants to increase state funding for Parents as Teachers by $2 million in the next fiscal year. That's on top of $2 million in increased funding from the state over the past two years, Blunt said during a stop in Cape Girardeau Monday afternoon.

"Early childhood education is extremely important," he said.

The money would expand the program to better serve children ages 3 to 5 in districts where that age group currently isn't served, said Jessica Robinson, Blunt's spokeswoman.

The added money also would allow PAT staff in school districts such as Cape Girardeau and Jackson to make more home visits for families with children that age and even serve more families, Robinson said.

Parent educators and school district officials welcome the spending plan."Parents are a child's first and most influential teacher," said Cape Girardeau parent educator Kassie Cox.

She and Ellinger said playtime educates young children. "They are just little sponges," Ellinger said.

Children at that age learn a lot by interacting with their parents. Ellinger encourages parents to read to their children from the start.

Various studies show that the program benefits children and families. At age 3, PAT children are more advanced in language, social development, problem solving and other cognitive abilities than children and families who weren't served by the program, parent educators say.

PAT parents are more involved in their children's schooling, are more confident in their parenting role and read more to their children, according to the PAT's national center.

Early detection

The Parents As Teachers program provides regular screenings to check children's vision, hearing and speech development. Such screenings can provide earlier detection of any disabilities, local parent educators said.

Dr. Beth Emmendorfer, director of special services for the Jackson School District, said Parents as Teachers is also a good resource for parents as children make the transition to kindergarten.

Funding

Blunt's proposed state budget calls for spending $34.3 million in fiscal year 2008 on the Parents as Teachers program. The program operates in every school district in Missouri. The state pays the bulk of the expense, but school districts also foot part of the cost.

The state helps fund the PAT program in each district based on the number of families served and the amount of home visits. Missouri's Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has allocated $137,875 to the Jackson School District and $87,520 to the Cape Girardeau school system for the 2006 to 2007 fiscal year.

The Cape Girardeau school system spends $20,000 to $25,000 to help fund the PAT program locally. Jackson spends nearly $60,000 to help fund its PAT services. The Jackson PAT program gets more state money because it serves more families, local education officials said.

Jackson's five parent educators currently serve 578 families. Cape Girardeau's four parent educators serve 382 families and more than 400 children.

The Scott City, Oran, Kelso and Delta school districts have a combined PAT program that serves 145 families and their children.

Missouri's parent educators are employed by the school districts. In the 2005 to 2006 school year, Missouri school districts employed 1,449 parent educators.

Educators make home visits and also hold periodic group meetings in their local areas that families can attend to learn about child development.

For every family

Although the program is funded by state and local tax dollars, Parents as Teachers is available to all families, even those who intend to send their children to parochial schools.

The program is voluntary. Deena Ring, director of special services for the Cape Girardeau district, wishes more parents would sign up for the program. "We would love every family to participate," she said.

Missouri's Parents as Teachers program, which began as a pilot project in 1981, currently serves some 154,000 families. It's spawned a national movement that has spread to all 50 states, said Jane Callahan, public policy manager for the Parents as Teachers national organization based in St. Louis.

Nationally, the program serves about 330,000 children. The program has expanded to other countries, including Canada, China, Mexico and the United Kingdom. But the program's most widely used in Missouri, Callahan said.

Kathy Koester said Parents as Teachers has helped educate her about her child's development and learning activities she should do with her child.

She said it also gives her peace of mind knowing that her baby daughter's vision, hearing and motor skills are developing properly.

Besides more money, parent educators say Blunt's spending plan would bring more public attention to a program they say is a proven success.

mbliss@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 123