The Regional Office of Education was recently awarded a Parents as Teachers Program Quality
Improvement grant to purchase a community resource vehicle. The Prenatal-Age 3 Program has been an affiliate of the Parents as Teachers Program since September 1998 using their research-based curriculum to serve 236 prenatal-age 3 children across our region of Henderson, Knox, Mercer, and Warren Counties. The Prenatal-Age 3 Family Educators provide weekly & bi-weekly home visits to empower parents to be their child’s first and most important teacher through goal setting and child development activities that focus on each individual child’s needs. Our program collaborates with partnering agencies, communities, and schools to maximize each child’s potential.
Parents as Teachers is kicking off their 40th Anniversary year by awarding and distributing grants for Investing in the Power of Families which is a three-pronged initiative designed to support affiliates by restoring family enrollment numbers, increase the direct services of needed supports and to grow opportunities within the communities that can lead to positive changes. PAT distributed $1.8 million dollars in grant funds for one year projects covering the 6 areas of : Combating Maternal & Infant Mortality, DEIA, Family Leadership, Marketing & Communications, Program Quality & Improvement, and Workforce Development.
Regional Office of Education #33 serves a 2,227 square-mile region covering four counties and is the backbone agency of the Early Childhood Prenatal-Age 3 home visiting program. ROE #33 will continue to support and sustain the Program Quality Improvement funds by collaborating in the use of the vehicle across the ROE #33 programs; Adult Education, Career and Technical Education, Early Childhood Preschool programs, Family Literacy, Regional Alternative Education Services, Truancy & Homeless Education and 21st Century Community Learning Centers, with a goal to increase family engagement and provide educational resources to the hardest to reach families with children.
With many families having to cover 80-100 miles round trip to access resources, families would have access to essential services such as mental health and parenting resources, educational
opportunities, essentials such as food, diapers, period supplies, laptops and mobile hotspots,
literacy libraries, as well as transportation that they may not have otherwise. Mobilizing
resources for the community directly aligns with Parents as Teachers model component of resource networking. The potential impact ROE #33 could have on Henderson, Knox, Mercer & Warren counties, if resources were made more accessible, could be life-changing for families throughout our region. Regular access to community resources will enhance the well-being, opportunities, and overall quality of life for community members.
The community resource vehicle will provide hotspots and laptops for rural internet access, act as a mobile food pantry, and provide necessities such as diapers and period supplies. The Regional Office of Education #33 and Regional Superintendent Jodi Scott will work collaboratively with agency partners such as Knox County Housing Authority, Loving Bottoms Diaper Bank, Mercer County Better Together, local libraries, and more to fill the needs of our community.
***Courtesy of the Regional Office of Education #33***
