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JCLC Programs Benefit School Families

Fletcher PACERS home/school liaisons, Christine Hilyer and Barbara Gossman, meet with parent Ashley Treacy and her kids, Remmington and Joshua for lunch. Submitted photo

Christine Hilyer and Barbara Gossman are the PACERS (Parents Activating Children’s Education Results into Success) home/school liaisons at Fletcher Elementary School. PACERS provide early learning experiences for children that are fun and developmentally appropriate through the evidence-based Parents as Teachers (PAT) home visitation program. PACERS and PAT are a collaborative partnership between the Jamestown Community Learning Council (JCLC) and Jamestown Public Schools.

Mrs. Hilyer and Ms. Gossman provide activities that parents and children can enjoy together at home, conduct home visits to serve as the families’ educational liaison and numerous enrichment activities for adults, including visiting their child’s classroom, parent support groups and other family events throughout the year. Mrs. Hilyer provides services for first through fourth grade families and Ms. Gossman helps UPK 3-year-olds and 4-year-olds and kindergarten families.

“We work on behalf of the children to get families engaged in their child’s education,” said the PACERS liaisons. “We not only provide educational activities but we also connect families to services they might need in the community. We try to empower parents to be the best advocate for their child.”

If there are younger siblings that are not in school yet, the liaisons can use the PAT (Parents as Teachers) program to give help enhance child development and school achievement through parental participation at the youngest ages. In JPS, PAT serves families whose children are birth through kindergarten and also includes home visits, group meetings, screenings for early interventions and resources and referrals.

“We know that parents are the first and most influential teachers,” said Rosary Kolivas, JCLC Executive Director. “The early years of a child’s life are so critical to their success and all of our programs focus on these important connections between schools and families.”

Mrs. Hilyer and Ms. Gossman also talk with a child’s teacher about what he or she might need and then connect with the parent to help them get those needs met. They also work with non-traditional parents like grandparents.

A new program that JCLC has rolled out this year is called Project Aim (Attendance Immensely Matters) to help with chronic attendance concerns. Project AIM coordinators at Fletcher are Valerie Reynolds and Marlyn Warden. They work with PACERS to reach families whose children might be having attendance concerns before it becomes an issue. The proactive approach allows referrals to be made to PACERS and if they were not one of the families currently served, Mrs. Reynolds and Mrs. Warden would make the home visits to help addresses any attendance concerns.

“We saw a need at JCLC to help with chronic absenteeism. As we are already helping the families, Project AIM is a natural extension. If students don’t attend school, they cannot succeed,” said Mrs. Kolivas. “An important part of Project AIM is to figure out the why? Why is a child missing school? Is it an illness or a family matter and how can we help the family so that their child gets to school.”

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