The Parents as Teachers program has been in Lawrence for 17 years and Tuesday they learned they have met some high quality standards.

“The Lawrence Parents as Teachers program is an excellent program,” said Wendy Webb, a Kansas State Department of Education consultant. “They have many resources connected to the Internet. They have parent educators that care deeply about their work and they have families excited in participating.”

The program caters to children from before birth to age three.

“We do the personal home visits with an activity, the handouts that provide information so a parent can tell what a child’s doing and what to expect,” said Lawrence PAT coordinator Gayle Anderson.

With the conclusion of a year long self-assessment, those in the Lawrence program can now say that are truly committed to constant improvement.

“What we in Kansas have done with these quality standards is, by every program in our state participating in the self-assessment, all programs can now claim the national center’s research about how well children do that participate in Parents as Teachers programs,” said Webb.

“They read earlier than other children,” said Anderson. “They talk earlier. The parents are more apt to be involved in school.”

The waiting list shows the popularity of this free program.

“We’re universal access. Anybody can enroll in Parents as Teachers,” Anderson said.

Currently the program serves almost 300 children in 227 families, including 86 on a waiting list.