Programs

Adult Education

Early Childhood Education

- Parents as Teachers (PAT)

- Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY)

- Early Childhood Education (ECE)

Parent and Family Support Services

Bilingual parent educators provide monthly home visits to 123 Spanish- speaking families using the Parents as Teachers (PAT) and Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) curricula. The programs help prepare Spanish-speaking children for school, emphasizing the importance of parents reading to their children and helping children learn basic skills. The PAT curriculum is geared to children from birth to two years old, while the HIPPY program targets children ages three, four and five.

The Early Childhood Education programs give families the opportunity to participate in a continuous, research-based six-year program that ensures children's healthy development and preparation for success in school. The families enrolled in the program also participate in monthly group meetings.

In addition, Focus Points provides on-site Early Childhood Education classes for approximately 200 children while their parents attend Focus Points' adult education classes. Preschool children are regularly evaluated using the Ages and Stages, HOME and Woodcock Johnson assessments.

Expected Result: 99% of children who receive home visits from educators through PAT or HIPPY for at least one year will meet or exceed developmental milestones and be prepared for school.

Early Childhood Education (ECE)

• Classes for children (ages 1-8 years) during their parents' classes
• Increasing school preparedness and basic literacy by:
  • Familiarizing children with a classroom setting
  • Developing motor and communication skills necessary for school
• Engaging in educational activities in groups and individually
• Serving approximately 200 children per year

Parents As Teachers (PAT)

• Empowering parents to see themselves as the first and most important teachers of their children (ages 0-3)
• Conducting age-appropriate activities contributing to children's intellectual development based on resources already available to parents
• Helping parents monitor their children's development
• Serving approximately 55 children per year

Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY)

• 30 week program of home instruction for children ages 3-5
• Increasing school preparedness, basic literacy, and parent involvement through:
  • Role playing educational activities with parents that they can then do with their children
  • Identifying shapes, colors, and letters and developing spatial concepts while reading together
• Serving approximately 100 children per year