
The History of Parents as Teachers
How It All Began
Between 1972 and 1989, visionary educator Mildred Winter laid the foundation for what would become the transformative Parents as Teachers organization. Driven by a passion for early childhood education and family support, she launched the program with home visits to 380 families across four school districts. This pioneering initiative set the stage for a groundbreaking approach to empowering parents as their child’s first and most important teachers—planting the seeds for a movement that would grow to impact families worldwide.
Our Story
1972 – 1989




1981
Parents as Teachers Pilot Program is Launched
A pilot program called New Parents as Teachers is launched, with 380 families in four Missouri school districts receiving home visits, group connections and child screenings.
Missouri Gov. Christopher “Kit” Bond takes notice.

1984
Early Childhood Development Act is Passed
In 1984, the Missouri General Assembly passes the “Early Childhood Development Act” requiring school districts to provide parent education and developmental screening from birth to three for all Missouri children.

1986
Leadership Award for Partners in Education
President Ronald Reagan awards Parents as Teachers the Leadership Award for Partners in Education.

1987
National Center is Established
In 1987, the Parents as Teachers National Center is established in Missouri.

1989
Early Expansion
By 1989, Parents as Teachers programs are being implemented in Ohio, Texas, Connecticut and Kansas.

Parents as Teachers Study Shows Improvement
A 1989 follow-up study of Parents as Teachers shows that children are performing ahead of the comparison group at the end of 1st grade and parents are more involved in children’s school experiences.
Becoming an Organization
In the 1990s, Parents as Teachers evolved into a dynamic nonprofit organization, reaching new milestones and transforming the landscape of early childhood education. With growing public recognition and support, the program expanded its impact beyond local communities, spreading nationwide and reaching families around the globe. This period marked an exciting era of growth and innovation, as Parents as Teachers became a leading force in empowering parents and strengthening families worldwide.
Our Story
1990 – 1999






1990
Parents as Teachers is Incorporated
Parents as Teachers is incorporated as an independent not-for-profit organization, streamlining operations and gaining more visibility.

1991
First Lady Barbara Bush Visits Parents as Teachers Headquarters
Barbara Bush and then Missouri Governor, John Ashcroft, visit Parents as Teachers in the Ferguson-Florissant School District and interact with children and families which focuses even more public attention on Parents as Teachers.

Bureau of Indian Affairs Implements the Family And Child Education (FACE) Program
A partnership between the federal Bureau of Indian Education, the National Center for Families Learning and Parents as Teachers National Center establishes five pilot sites developed specifically for American Indian families. It matched highly trained, local, Indigenous professionals with families from pregnancy through their children’s first years of life.

1992
First ever Parents as Teachers Conference Held in St. Louis
PATNC hosts its first international conference with the theme “Ready or Not: Ensuring Good Beginnings for Children.” Forty states and England send representatives from a broad range of disciplines.

1993
Outstanding Schools Act Provides Funding for birth to age 5 in Missouri
Missouri’s Outstanding Schools Act establishes many of the policies that govern Missouri’s schools today.
Parents as Teachers Three to Five curriculum guide and training is developed.

1994
U.S. Secretary of Education Richard Riley Visits Parents as Teachers Headquarters
Secretary Riley visits the University City, MO Parents as Teachers program and in his State of American Education address commends Parents as Teachers as a state program that continues to add value to education.

1995
Parents as Teachers Celebrates 10 years of progress
Parents as Teachers celebrates 10 years of progress from four project sites to statewide implementation in Missouri to national and international program replication. Program is now recognized as the nation’s largest program providing education and support to families and children in their beginning years.

1996
Born to Learn Curriculum
Parents as Teachers begins development of a new curriculum with the intention of infusing neuroscience research and strategies that proves the importance of early brain development.

1998
1998 Born to Learn™ Video Series Awarded New York Festivals Award for Excellence in International Communications Media
The greatest challenge facing the training department in 1998 is preparing to introduce the Born to Learn Curriculum to all existing Parents as Teachers programs. To ensure standardization of the neuroscience information, an award-winning video series is developed collaboratively by neuroscientists, curriculum writers, and training teams.
Kids Don’t Come With Directions
Parents as Teachers continued to revolutionize early childhood education with innovative programs and resources. Recognizing that “kids don’t come with directions,” the organization expanded its mission to guide families through the complexities of parenting. During this period, the launch of the Born to Learn Curriculum empowered parents with valuable tools and insights, reinforcing the critical role they play in their child’s development. This era solidified Parents as Teachers as a trusted partner for families worldwide, helping them build strong foundations for their children’s futures.
Our Story
2000 – 2009




2000
Parents as Teachers Begins Translation of Materials into Spanish
The Born to Learn Curriculum and video series is translated into Spanish. The translation to Spanish is partially funded by the McCormick Tribune Foundation and completed with the assistance of the Texas Parents as Teachers state office affiliate.

2002
Parents as Teachers Expands to all 50 States
Parents as Teachers programs spread across the country with its research-based, evidence-informed curricula model available in all 50 states.

2004
Education Begins At Home Act is Introduced by Senators Kit Bond and Jim Talent
The Education Begins At Home Act – or EBAH – is the forerunner of a series of bills that would eventually become the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program, otherwise known as MIECHV.

2005
Parents as Teachers Expands to Germany
The program is implemented in Germany, primarily serving educationally disadvantaged families.

Born to Learn™ Curriculum Revised
The curriculum is revised to reflect more diversity and cultural humility.

2006
“Heroes at Home” Military Family Support
Parents as Teachers launches the “Heroes at Home” initiative, at the direction of the Department of Defense, to provide services to military families on 23 installations across the U.S., Hawaii and Alaska.

2008
First Federal Funding for Education Begins At Home Act
First federal funding for evidence-based home visiting (EBHV) is appropriated under President George W. Bush.

2009
HomVEE Clearinghouse Launched
The Department of Health and Human Services launches the Home Visiting Evidence of Effectiveness (HomVEE) clearinghouse, which systematically reviews the research on early childhood home visiting models that serve families with pregnant people and children from birth to kindergarten, to determine which models have enough rigorous evidence to be considered evidence-based and eligible for MIECHV funding. Parents as Teachers is on the clearinghouse.
Miles and Milestones
Parents as Teachers celebrates 40 years of empowering families and transforming communities worldwide. This milestone highlighted decades of dedication to strengthening families through early childhood education and support. Expanding its global impact, the organization launched PAT Health in Nigeria, addressing critical challenges in maternal health and working to reduce maternal morbidity and mortality. This decade reflects Parents as Teachers’ ongoing commitment to innovation and advocacy, ensuring that every family, no matter where they are, has the support they need to thrive.
Our Story
2010 – 2024








2010
Parents as Teachers Establishes Requirements for Model Fidelity
To ensure high quality replication of the evidence-based model, Parents as Teachers deepens the approach in working with families and creates Essential Requirements for implementation.

MIECHV Authorized and Funded
Authorized in 2010, MIECHV provides $1.5 billion over the next five years in federal home-visiting funding. This levels-up the entire home visiting field. With MIECHV, early childhood home visiting programs build their resources, extend their reach and become more effective, allowing more families to be served. MIECHV funding was reauthorized in 2014.

2014
Launch of Show Me Strong Families
Parents as Teachers National Center begins delivering PAT services in north St. Louis County through the Show Me Strong Families initiative and eventually also serves families in St. Louis City.

2015
Launched the Quality Endorsement Improvement Process
Supporting affiliates in validating and demonstrating the quality of their services.

2016
Early Childhood Innovation Prize Granted
A $1-million Early Childhood Innovation Prize is granted to explore feasibility of virtual child developmental screenings.
Parents as Teachers partners with University Southern California telehealth and the USC Suzanne Dvorak Peck School of Social Work to test virtual home visiting parent education.

2020
$200,000+ Grant Awarded
Parents as Teachers is awarded a $200,000+ grant to launch virtual-hybrid home visits in Texas.

Family Support During COVID-19
With the onset of a world-wide pandemic, Parents as Teachers fully pivoted to virtual home visits. Home visiting never stopped.
Having explored and tested virtual home visits, Parents as Teachers is approached by Heising Simons Foundation and asked to share learnings with the entire field of home visiting. Rapid Response Virtual Home Visiting is launched.

2021
Enterprise Holdings Foundation Awards Parents as Teachers $5 Million Dedicated to Diversity
The pandemic’s economic impact is especially hard on under-resourced communities and people of color. Parents as Teachers’ unwavering dedication to diversity, cultural humility and social-economic development attracts the right kind of attention when it is most needed.

Parent educators Cross-Trained as Full Spectrum Doulas
In an effort to reduce maternal mortality and morbidity in the St. Louis region, Parents as Teachers innovates by offering doula services to expectant parents in Show Me Strong Families.

2022
Parents as Teachers Translates Parent Materials into 12 Languages
In 2022, Parents as Teachers makes moves to reach more families. Parent handouts are translated from English into 12 languages, including Somali, Arabic, and Portuguese.

MIECHV Increased and Extended
The reauthorization of the Maternal Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) program—dedicated to the late Congresswoman and MIECHV champion, Jackie Walorski—doubles MIECHV funding over 5 years, increasing to $800 million by FY 2027, and doubles the “tribal set-aside” from 3% to 6%.

2023
Parents as Teachers Receives a $7 Million Gift from MacKenzie Scott
This generous gift from MacKenzie Scott is the largest in Parents as Teachers’ history.

PAT Engage App Launched
“PAT Engage,” the first ever Parents as Teachers app, is created as a new, two-way communication and engagement tool for use in Parents as Teachers affiliates to further interact with families.

National Institutes of Health Grant Sends Parents as Teachers to Nigeria
A long standing partnership between Washington University in St. Louis and the Parents as Teachers National Center (PATNC) has led to a National Institute of Health ENHANCE Project grant to expand PAT HEALTH internationally to Abuja, Nigeria with new partners from the University of Abuja and New York University. PAT HEALTH is an initiative that aims to help combat maternal morbidity and mortality through addressing cardiovascular health.

Parents as Teachers Expands Model Goals from Four to Seven
Parents as Teachers expands its model goals to ensure that it continues to meet the needs of families and communities. All of the model goals are backed by research – demonstrating the impact Parents as Teachers’ home visiting experts are having on families, children, and communities.