National Center news
Parents as Teachers featured in the New York Times
We are thrilled to share an excerpt of a Parents as Teachers focused article featured above the fold on the front page of the New York Times newspaper! This incredible piece of reporting is the culmination of our conversations, including two visits to St. Louis, over the past year with reporter, Erica L. Green. The article highlights how our Show Me Strong Families affiliate layers certified doulas along with the Parents as Teachers evidence based model to improve vitality outcomes for birthing people and newborns. Over the next year, the National Center is excited to continue to learn more about how our field utilizes doula services and support expansion efforts. To view the entire Parents as Teachers New York Times story, copy and view this link: https://nyti.ms/3nA0vW9
Story: Erica L. Green, The New York Times, published Jan. 18, 2023.
Photos: Akilah Townsend, The New York Times
Show Me Strong Families
Of the more than 1,000 affiliates, two are embedded in the National Center and are referred to as the Show Me Strong Families (SMSF) initiative. Last year, the city affiliate, funded through the Maternal Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) program, was awarded its Blue-Ribbon designation for demonstrating the highest quality of service delivery; Normandy Schools Collaborative Parents as Teachers earned its Blue-Ribbon the prior year. The initiative also received funding from the St. Louis City Mental Health Board to support 40 families, primarily women living in shelters in the city, and the childcare centers that serve their children. SMSF now serves nearly 300 families annually through these affiliates.
In the last year, more than one quarter of families enrolled prenatally. In the past year, SMSF increased its capacity to provide doula services to enrolled families. There are now five Black parent educators who are certified full-spectrum doulas, three of whom are lactation consultants. The doulas served 32 expectant families and made presentations at four national conferences.
Day at the Ballpark returned
Back by popular demand, Parents as Teachers resumed hosting Parents as Teachers Day at the Busch Stadium Ballpark in downtown St. Louis, Missouri. Four hundred Parents as Teachers Baseball Cardinals fans and their families attended the game to raise awareness about Parents as Teachers. Ticket holders received a Parents as Teachers Day at the Ballpark commemorative shirt, jumbo hot dog, fountain drink, and a Build-A-Bear Workshop bear.
Top Workplace Winner for a second consecutive year
Parents as Teachers National Center was awarded a Top Workplaces honor by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch Newspaper’s Top Workplaces program for 2022 for a second time. The award is based solely on the feedback from a survey that Parents as Teachers staff completed.
“Being named a Top Workplace is especially gratifying because only a select group of companies make the list. I am honored, especially because the judges responsible for our placement among them were our employees,” said Parents as Teachers President and CEO Constance Gully.
