Parents as Teachers

We would like to bring awareness to a service provided through the Van Buren Intermediate School District called Family Links - Parents as Teachers. 

Parents as Teachers (PAT) is a home-visiting program that aims to improve the health, development, and learning of children by supporting their parents and caregivers. The program's goals include: 

  • Increasing parents' knowledge of early childhood development 

  • Improving parenting practices 

  • Helping families detect health issues and developmental delays early 

  • Preventing child abuse and neglect 

  • Increasing children's school readiness and success 

  • Decreasing parent stress 

The program is offered voluntarily and at no cost to families. It's available to pregnant women and primary caregivers with children from birth to kindergarten entry.  In Van Buren county, representing all school districts, we have six family educators who provide in-home learning opportunities using the PAT research based curriculum.  Our mission is to partner with parents on their parenting and educational journey as they prepare their children for school success.

For more information you can visit the Family Links website at https://www.vbisd.org/o/ece/page/family-links where they have a contact form, or call (269) 539-5214.