Keystone�Learning Services outlines Parents as Teachers reach in Atchison

Jennifer Shipp, interim coordinator for the Parents as Teachers program at Keystone Learning Services, presented program outcomes and methods to the Atchison Board. Shipp said the program served 19 families with 30 children this year and accounted for 21 contracted family "slots" because some families with multiple stressors count as two slots. She told the board that one parent educator, Elise, completed more than 162 personal visits as of the report date.

Shipp emphasized that Parents as Teachers is an evidence-based parent education and family engagement program that supports families from pregnancy through kindergarten with personal home visits, developmental screenings, resource connections and group opportunities. "We're there to teach the parents so that the parents can be their child's first teacher," Shipp said. Board members thanked Shipp for the report and asked about referral pathways; Shipp said families are reached through community partners, word-of-mouth, churches, hospitals, clinics and self-referral.