Garden City Public SchoolsParents As Teachers Awarded Blue Ribbon Affiliate Status

Garden City Public Schools Parents as Teachers (PAT) has been awarded Blue Ribbon Affiliate status by Parents as Teachers, the largest, evidence-based early childhood home visiting program in the United States. The distinction recognizes the organization’s highest standards for quality and model fidelity, making Garden City Public Schools Parents as Teachers one of the top-performing home visiting affiliates within the Parents as Teachers international network.

The in-depth Quality Endorsement Improvement Process, which affiliates complete every five years to ensure alignment with organizational requirements, identifies programs that reach benchmarks of excellence in quality service to the families in their communities. A designation as a Blue Ribbon Affiliate affirms that the district’s Parents as Teachers program implements the evidence-based Parents as Teachers model with fidelity, and that families in Garden City are positively impacted by the services delivered by this program.

The program includes home visits, group connections, child screening, and connections to community resources. It equips parents with knowledge and resources to prepare their children for a stronger start in life and greater success in school.

“We underwent an intensive 18-month rigorous self-study and review known as the Quality Endorsement and Improvement Process from the National Center. The process confirms we are meeting Parents as Teachers’ standards of fidelity and quality,” said Madison Thompson, PAT Coordinator for Garden City Public Schools. “Blue Ribbon Affiliates are recognized as exemplary programs, delivering the highest quality services to children and families.”

Implementation with quality and fidelity is vital in home-visiting programs, as it determines a program’s effectiveness in accomplishing its original goals and intended outcomes. It also verifies that a program is implemented as designed. The rigorous endorsement process of Parents as Teachers demonstrates an affiliate’s accountability and credibility to the community, its funders, elected officials, and the partner organizations with which they work.

Thompson will attend and be recognized during a reception at the 2027 Parents as Teachers International Conference in October 2027 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.