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The 2025-2026 Kansas Parents as Teachers Grant Application is open now. Due date is Friday, March 14, 2025 closing at 5:00 pm. Lisa Williams will be available until 5:00 pm on March 14 to provide technical support in submitting grant applications.
Click here for the Qualtrics survey link to submit the application.
Please only submit one application per district/consortium.
Kansas Parents as Teachers is an evidenced-based parent education model used to support parents and children from prenatal to kindergarten entry. The model provides a wide array of services to families including personal visits, group learning and socializing events, child and caregiver screenings and connections to community resources. The services are delivered by trained professionals and support a comprehensive set of goals including: increase children’s school readiness and success; provide early detection of developmental delays and connections to services; increase parent knowledge of early childhood development and improve positive parenting practices; strengthen community capacity and connectedness. Parents as Teachers is an evidence-based strategy to promote student success.
If a district is not currently providing Parents as Teachers services, this could be a good opportunity to join or contract with an existing program for Parents as Teachers. Reach out to Lisa Williams to learn more.
The Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE) is the State Office for Parents as Teachers (PAT) in Kansas and supports local programs in implementing the Parents as Teachers affiliate model.
There are four parts to the Parents as Teachers model. As families engage in each of the following components of Parents as Teachers, they are likely to achieve key goals and outcomes:
Together, these services support families in meeting the following goals/outcomes:
Click here for the Directory of Kansas Parents as Teachers programs to find contact information for a program in your community.
The Parents as Teachers® (PAT) evidence-based affiliate model provides parents with the skills and knowledge they need to help make informed decisions regarding their child’s education. The program includes personal visits, group connections, health, vision, hearing and developmental screenings, and supports family connections with other community services. Additional information about the Parents as Teachers program is available on the PAT National website: www.parentsasteachers.org.
KSDE serves as the Parents as Teachers® State Office and supports local programs with implementing the Parents as Teachers affiliate model. The KPAT program is available to any parent, including fathers, relatives as caregivers, and foster and adoptive parents, who has a child under the age of kindergarten entry and lives within a participating school district.
Kansas Parents as Teachers programs partner with other home visiting and early childhood programs to promote access to high quality services for children and families in their communities. Home visiting in Kansas includes several evidence-based and universal home visiting program and approaches to support families and children from pregnancy until a child enters kindergarten. Home visiting is a voluntary program that involves the family meeting with a trained, family support professional at a time convenient for families. Home visitors provide new or expecting parents with resources to keep themselves and their children safe, healthy and nurtured. Evidenced based home visiting programs are proven to: support healthy and thriving children; increase parenting knowledge and confidence; strengthen the bond between a parent and a child; and help increase school readiness and success. For more information about the variety of home visiting programs in Kansas, visit www.kshomevisiting.org.
2023-2024 Kansas Parents as Teachers APR report (PDF) 2022-2023 Kansas Parents as Teachers APR (PDF) 2021-2022 Parents as Teachers APR updated Oct 2022 (PDF) 2020-2021 Parents as Teachers APR updated Sept 2021 (PDF) 2019-2020 Parents as Teachers APR (PDF) 2018-2019 Parents as Teachers APR (PDF) 2017-2018 Parents as Teachers APR (PDF) 2016-2017 Parents as Teachers APR (PDF)
Kansas Parents as Teachers (KPAT) Frequently asked Questions(FAQ) SY2022-2023 - Updated September 2022 (PDF)
Early Childhood Home Page (General information, Webinars)
Early Childhood Director Amanda Petersen Amanda.Petersen@ksde.gov
Parents as Teachers Coordinator Lisa Williams Lisa.Williams@ksde.gov
Early Childhood Special Education Coordinator Position Filled starting July 1st, 2025
Preschool Programs Coordinator Natalie McClane Natalie.McClane@ksde.gov
State Interagency Coordinating Council Coordinator Stacy Clarke kansasicc@ksde.gov
Data Coordinator Trevor Huffman Trevor.Huffman@ksde.gov
For problems with this webpage Please Contact Beccy Strohm Beccy.Strohm@ksde.gov (785) 296-6602
Kindergarten Readiness Resources Fact Sheet (PDF) updated March 2025 Kansas Kindergarten Readiness Snapshot Fact Sheet (Spring 2025) (PDF)
kels.ksde.gov Kansas Early Learning Standards website and training opportunities(external link) 2019 Kansas Family Engagement and Partnership Standards for Early Childhood(PDF) Kansas Prekindergarten Guide (PDF) Kansas Quality Network (External Link) Kansas Full Day Kindergarten Guide (PDF) All Day Kindergarten Schedules (PDF)
Kindergarten in Kansas English (PDF) Kindergarten in Kansas Spanish (PDF) Kindergarten in Kansas Arabic (PDF) Kindergarten in Kansas Burmese (PDF) Kindergarten in Kansas Swahili (PDF) Kindergarten in Kansas Vietnamese (PDF)
Click here to order free printed copies of Kindergarten in Kansas booklets, or contact Natalie Schweda at nschweda@kpirc.org
The Kansas State Department of Education does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability, or age in its programs and activities. (more information...)
To accommodate people with disabilities, on request, auxiliary aides and services will be provided and reasonable modifications to policies and programs will be made. To request accommodations or for more information please contact the Office of General Counsel at gc@ksde.gov or by 785-296-3201.