Family is the first school for young children, and parents are powerful models.
Alice Sterling Honig
Family is at the very root of a stable education. At Families First, we recognize that learning starts before a child ever enters a classroom. Based on the Perry Study done in the 1960s, 3 and 4 year olds enrolled in a quality preschool program had a higher IQ at the age of 5, higher high school graduation rate at the age of 18, and higher gross income by the age of 27 among other things measured. Families First’s CHISPA program assures that pre-school age children in Gwinnett County are prepared for school by coaching parents to be the primary educators of and advocates for their children. Last week at the Georgia Natural Gas True Blue Community Awards ceremony, CHISPA was presented with one of eight $2,500 grants for organizations that believe in the power of early educational intervention as the cornerstone to a child’s ultimate success and his/her long term self sufficiency. The Families First CHISPA Program has partnered with elementary schools, housing complexes, social services, the United Way, families of young children, and generous corporate supporters like Georgia Natural Gas to empower families by equipping parents to become their child’s first teachers.
This week’s blog is a success story from our CHISPA Program. At Families First, we strive to provide all children with an environment that supports life-long learning and long-term educational success. It is our job to provide all children with the opportunity to be successful in school starting from birth, to Pre-Kindergarten, through to high school, and ultimately higher education.
Kim Anderson, Families First CEO
Never having attended daycare or pre-K, four-year-old Miguel was not socially or emotionally prepared for Kindergarten. He was shy and unable to respond to questions from teachers and adults he knew. In addition, his motor skills were under-developed; he was unable to hold pencils correctly, write, or cut with scissors for art projects. When Miguel’s mother enrolled him in the Families First CHISPA program, they had less than one year to prepare Miguel for Kindergarten but accepted the challenge with tenacity and vigor.
CHISPA, which means ‘spark’ in Spanish, is a program that assures that pre-school age children in Norcross and Lilburn in Gwinnett County are prepared for school by engaging the parents as teachers, coaches and leaders. CHISPA helps parents to prepare their children for a smooth transition into elementary school through home and community based parent education, parent leadership training, and pre-K and Kindergarten transition planning and activities.
After Miguel and his mom enrolled in CHISPA, one of the two bi-lingual Parent Educators worked with Miguel’s mom to conduct and facilitate health and developmental screenings for Miguel and to design an individual portfolio (i.e., scrapbook) about Miguel to introduce him to his kindergarten teacher later on that year. The CHISPA Program staff helped to prepare extra activities to prepare Miguel’s mom to work with him at home. Miguel worked intensively on his social and emotional skills as well as his academic and problem-solving abilities. Within months, Miguel’s motor skills were greatly improved and he became more confident, active and willing to explore his environment. Soon, Families First was able to arrange for Miguel to be placed in a pre-K program with one of our early learning partner schools.
His mother was ecstatic and thankful that her son was finally enrolled in pre-K, an opportunity that her son had been missing. Miguel’s pre-K teacher was glad to have him in her class, and she reported that Miguel was very knowledgeable and advanced. Since Miguel missed pre-K during the fall 2009, she was especially impressed that he not only caught up to the students who had started in the fall, but also was found to be at an advanced level. After Miguel was enrolled in kindergarten, he performed very well in the Georgia Kindergarten First Assessment (GKIDS). Miguel did very well in kindergarten and his mother continued to participate in all activities that Families First had to offer. He is now in the first grade and doing exceptionally well. Miguel is another story of the success of our early childhood school transition work and highlights the importance of early intervention for pre-school aged youth.
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