By Cheri Brady

Parents are their children’s first and most significant teachers, and learning is more powerful when it is coupled with love.

The Parent-Child Home Program (PCHP) has successfully helped families challenged by poverty, low levels of education and other obstacles to educational success guide their children to school success by stimulating enriched parent-child verbal interaction.

Founded in 1965 in New York by Dr. Phyllis Levenstein, the PCHP is certified by the U.S. Department of Education as a program that works. There are more than 150 PCHP sites throughout the United States, and thanks to a generous grant from Beverly N. Grossman, Jewish Family and Children’s Service of Minneapolis is proud to be Minnesota’s first PCHP replication site.

“Stacey’s here!” says Anna, a gleeful 2-year-old, as she runs to the door of her apartment. Stacey, a PCHP Home Visitor, enters with a new set of vividly-colored plastic dishes. In a few moments, Anna is engaged in a pretend tea party with her mother and Stacey.

The tea party is actually very important work; Anna is learning new concepts and words, is able to “show off” her new learning and is having lots of fun with her mom. When Stacey says goodbye 30 minutes later, Anna and her mom are still involved in lively conversation and play with this new toy.

Variations of this play likely will be repeated throughout the week between Anna and her mother, which will fuel and reinforce Anna’s learning.

When Stacey returns for her next scheduled visit, she observes Anna using new words: Anna tells her she wants to “pour” the juice. She identifies the cup as “red” and notes that her socks are also “red.” Her mother smiles at Anna and says to Stacey, “She is so smart. I can’t believe how much she is talking lately!”

By the time Anna is 5 years old, she will have heard as many words as her more socially advantaged peers and will be well prepared for success as she starts kindergarten.

While Anna’s mother experiences her own positive influence on Anna’s learning, she is highly likely to remain an active participant in Anna’s education for the next several years, which is another important indicator of educational success.

Through twice weekly home visits over two years, a JFCS home visitor brings a carefully selected book or toy for the family to keep. During the visit, enriched vocabulary is demonstrated through play with the parent and child together. Most children respond positively, dramatically and very quickly to the program, which in turn rapidly engages the parent in seemingly simple, yet profound activity.

Parents discover more opportunities to have chats with their children. As children gain verbal skills, they propel their parents toward higher levels of interaction. Over time, the children gain social and emotional skills as well as early literacy skills.

PCHP research indicates that graduates are more engaged learners, more confident and graduate from high school at rates 20 percent higher that their similarly situated peers.

JFCS is thrilled to offer PCHP to west metro families who qualify.

If you or someone you know has a two-year-old child and faces poverty or limited opportunities for education, contact PCHP Coordinator Deb Bjorgaard at 952-417-2137 or dbjorgaard@jfcsmpls.org to learn how PCHP can help those children succeed.

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Cheri Brady, LICSW, is Supervisor of the PCHP and Aquila Cedar Manor Together (ACT) programs at JFCS. She has worked with children and families in various settings since 1988.