CONTACT: JIM MORRIS |
Vol. 43, No. 16
March 17, 2009
“Parents as Teachers” Marks 25 Years of Leadership in Early Education
Missouri education leaders recently celebrated the 25th anniversary of the creation of the Parents as Teachers (PAT) program by honoring the “leaders and legends” who have made the Show-Me State a pioneer in the field of early childhood and parent education.
In conjunction with the 36th annual Conference on the Young Years, held last week at Osage Beach, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education sponsored a reception on March 13 to mark the 25th anniversary of the passage of legislation that authorized the statewide Parents as Teachers program.
The “Early Childhood Development Act” was approved by the Missouri Legislature in 1984. Funding to begin implementation of PAT in all Missouri school districts was approved the following year (1985-86).
Interim Commissioner of Education Bert Schulte presented “PAT Legend” awards to three individuals for their leadership and foresight in establishing the program:
- U.S. Senator Kit Bond. Then-Governor Bond worked hard to secure passage of the initial legislation that launched PAT. He has continued to be a strong proponent and has supported PAT at the federal level.
- Arthur L. Mallory, Springfield. The former Commissioner of Education (1971-1987) established the first early childhood education section within the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and employed Mildred M. Winter as the state’s first director of early childhood education.
- Mildred Winter, St. Louis. As DESE’s director of early childhood education, she designed the 1981 pilot project that launched the PAT model in four Missouri school districts. Later, she was the founding director of the St. Louis-based Parents as Teachers National Center.
Two Missourians received the “PAT Leader” award:
- Sue Stepleton, St. Louis. She has been president and chief executive officer of the PAT National Center since 2002. Established by DESE in 1987, the center became an independent organization in 1990. It has grown into an important center for research, training and advocacy in early childhood education.
- D. Kent King, Rolla. The late Commissioner of Education, who died in January, was a strong proponent of PAT and a supporter of expanded early childhood education opportunities in Missouri. His daughter, Tracy James, a teacher in Rolla, accepted the award.
Four school districts – Farmington, Ferguson-Florissant, Francis Howell and Independence – also were honored for their role as the sites of the original “New Parents as Teachers” pilot project (1981-84). These districts were selected through a competitive-grant process to receive funding from DESE and The Danforth Foundation. Their efforts demonstrated the benefits of the PAT model and provided a template for statewide implementation of the ambitious PAT program.
The current state budget for PAT is about $34 million. Last year, Missouri school districts employed more than 1,600 parent educators to serve more than 85,000 families with young children (prenatal to age 3). The program also serves families with children from age 3 to kindergarten entry.
Programs based on the PAT model now operate in all 50 states and multiple foreign countries. Missouri remains the only state that funds all public schools to provide direct parent education services for families, prenatal to kindergarten entry. School districts must offer the services; participation is voluntary for families.
The PAT program also continues to grow and adapt to changing demands. For example, in partnership with the Department of Defense, the PAT National Center recently began serving military families through the “Heroes at Home” program. This partnership began as a pilot program in 2006 and has recently expanded to provide PAT services for families at military installations across the country.
For more information, contact Jo Anne Ralston, DESE director of early childhood education, at 573-751-2095.