STAR for Families – Parents as Teachers

As a parent, you are your child’s first and most important teacher. Being a parent is a unique journey and possibly the most important and rewarding job you will ever have. Baldwin STAR (Support, Teaching And Resources) for Families is here to support you in that role by providing evidence based services to help you understand each stage of your child’s growth and development. STAR is a Parents as Teachers Blue Ribbon affiliate program. Parents as Teachers (PAT) is an international research-based home visiting program that encourages parents to take an active role in promoting their child’s healthy development prenatally and through the first years of life. Baldwin STAR/Parents as Teachers provides the information, support, and encouragement parents need to help their children develop optimally during the crucial early years of life. Our program provides a curriculum with established and emerging research-based information designed to promote parent knowledge of early childhood development and best parenting practices.

This free voluntary program is personalized to families who have children prenatal through age five years of age and reside within the USD 348 district boundaries.
All parent educators have a minimum of an undergraduate degree, experience in early childhood education, and have completed the National Parents as Teachers certification program.

Program Vision: All children will learn, grow and develop to realize their full potential.

Program Mission: To provide the information, support, and encouragement parents/caregivers need to help their children develop optimally during the crucial early years of life.

Program Goals
• Increase parent knowledge of early childhood development and improve parenting practices
• Provide early detection of developmental delays and health issues
• Prevent child abuse and neglect
• Increase children’s school readiness and school success
• Connect families with community resources

Program Components

There are four interrelated and integrated components of the Baldwin STAR/PAT model: personal visits, group connections, screenings and resource connections.

  • Personal Visits
    Personal visits are the major service delivery component of the STAR/PAT program. During personal visits, certified parent educators share age appropriate child development information with families, help parents learn to observe their own child, address parent concerns and engage the family in activities that provide meaningful parent-child interaction. As a parent, you get to participate in developmentally appropriate activities and have conversations about how you can help your child grow and develop to realize their full potential. The research-based Parents as Teachers curriculum is individualized and is strengths based. Visits are typically scheduled monthly and last 45-60 minutes.
  • Group Connections
    Group Connections are events provided throughout the program year that provide opportunities for parents to learn about child development and parenting skills. Some are designed to focus on parent-child interactions and others are an opportunity to share developmental information with families. They also provide an opportunity to connect with other parents. Both adult only and parent/child events are provided throughout the program year.
  • Screenings
    Our program provides screenings in overall development, health, hearing, and vision. Regular review of each child’s developmental progress identifies strengths and abilities as well as areas of concern that require connection to follow-up services and increases the parent’s understanding of their child’s development.
  • Resource Connections
    Resource Connections are provided by parent educators to help families identify and access community resources. The program connects families to needed resources and takes an active role in the community, establishing ongoing collaborative relationships with other organizations that serve children and families.