Parents as Teachers is a national program that began in the early 1980s as a pilot program for first-time parents. Since then, they have expanded worldwide as a preeminent model for improving parent involvement during a child’s earliest development stages and increasing their readiness for school. Batesville School district adopted the home visiting and Parents As Teachers program in 1996 with the hope of serving students who are parents and parents in our community who need extra support.

To date, they are the top two largest home visiting programs in the state, along with Fort Smith, AR, and have received a Blue Ribbon Affiliate, which is the highest designation for a home visiting program to receive. The district was striving to find a comprehensive plan to serve our students and has started to help serve our students beyond the classroom.

We began implementation of our summer child care program-Kindergarten through 5th, home visiting, and before and after-school care. We now have a Home Visiting and Parents As Teachers staff of 14 who serve over 300 families daily.