"All children will learn, grow, and develop to realize their full potential."
What is Checotah Parents as Teachers (OPAT)?
Parents as Teachers is an internationally recognized network of organizations and professionals that supports hundreds of thousands of families in all 50 states as well as many other countries through a proven parent education model featuring intimate, in-home visits with parents and children.
Checotah Public Schools has been awarded a grant for the 2010-2011 Oklahoma Parents as Teachers program. OPAT is a unique parent education program designed to give children the best possible start in life. The program is based on the philosophy that parents are their children's best teachers. It is a free, voluntary program for ALL parents with children birth to age three.
The goal of the OPAT program is to strengthen the capacity of parents to be effective first teachers. OPAT is also designed to foster an early partnership between home and school so that parents take a far more active role during their children's formal years of schooling. Studies show that the OPAT program helps parents prepare their children for a succesful school future.
What does OPAT offer families?
*Nearly three-fourths of all OPAT children were enrolled in the program before their first birthday, ensuring earlier intervention.
*OPAT programs far exceeded the program goal of one parent group meeting per month. There were a total of 1,402 parent group meetings in 2008-2009.
*The percentage of OPAT children aged 19-35 months who have received appropriate immunizations continue to increase (up to 93.9%).
*During the ten months of the program, 33, 775 personal visits were made by the OPAT parent educators.
What are the benefits?
- Increased parental knowledge of child development
- Strong parent-child relationships
- A better foundation for school success
- Fewer developmental delays
National research continues to reveal the following findings of children who participate in a Parent as Teachers program:
- Parents in the Patrents as Teachers program read more frequently to their young children and were more likely to enroll their children in preschools, which were positiviely linked to school readiness and later school achievement.
- For low-income children, high intensity Parents as Teachers and preschool participation appears to narrow the achievement gap at kindergarten entry and third grade.
Community Partnerships
- Headstart
- Sooner Start
- County Health Department
- Department of Human Services
- Public Libraries
- Health Clinics
- Civic Organizations
For more information, please contact: Eunice Warrior at 918-473-2239, Ext. 8008, or Jann Ledbetter at 918-473-5832. The Checotah PAT office is located in the J-Wing at the high school. Counselors at each school site will have information.
