Parents as Teachers has received a $3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education’s Innovative Approaches to Literacy Program. This substantial award will enable Parents as Teachers to improve literacy outcomes for 2,000 families with young children in select states.

Through the Innovative Approaches to Literacy Program grant, 60 Parents as Teachers affiliates will introduce young children and their parents to literacy-focused activities designed to hone literacy skills at an early age. These affiliates will conduct biweekly visits to share information and activities, such as word play games, rhymes and conversation techniques, designed to help parents encourage their child’s reading and verbal language development. To further enrich the home literacy environment, participating children also will receive a free book each month through a partnership with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.

“Literacy and school-readiness are central to Parents as Teachers, and we are grateful that the Innovative Approaches to Literacy Program has recognized our work in this area. This grant will enable us to demonstrate the impact of the Parents as Teachers evidence-based model in combination with the evidence-informed Imagination Library on children’s oral language and emergent literacy.” says Scott Hippert, president and CEO of Parents as Teachers. “This investment in education will yield long-term results as we prepare today’s young children for success in school and to ultimately become tomorrow’s educated workforce.”

Parents as Teachers will receive $1.7 million from the Innovative Approaches to Literacy Program to support the first year of literacy integration for its affiliates, followed by a $1.3 million grant for the second year of the project.  

The Innovative Approaches to Literacy Program awarded a total of $28 million in 2012 to support 46 grantees charged with improving literacy skills for children and students from birth through 12th grade. The grantees include school districts with at least 25 percent of students from families below the poverty line and several nonprofit organizations, like Parents as Teachers, who serve high-needs children and families.

Studies show that Parents as Teachers services increase children’s school success and parental involvement, as well as help improve children’s health and prevent child abuse. Parents as Teachers affiliates also identify and connect families with resources to address developmental, hearing and speech delays that may impact children’s language development.