MONTGOMERY—Parents of Fort Payne preschoolers are getting help preparing their children for elementary school with a $42,000 Appalachian Regional Commission grant announced by Gov. Robert Bentley.

The grant will support Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters, or HIPPY, a program that helps families with children ages 3-5 develop problem solving, language and logical thinking skills. Program officials say these skills help children achieve early success in school. 

“As a child’s first teachers, parents help their children acquire basic skills before they ever set foot in a school,” Bentley said. “By helping parents become effective teachers in the home, this program lays the foundation for children to be successful in the classroom.”

Parent educators, who are also parents in the program, visit the homes of participating families each week to deliver activity packets. The packets include lessons with step-by-step instructions for parent-child learning activities during the week. The parents meet once a month to discuss ideas and tips related to the program.

A professional coordinator and site supervisor develop the activities, train parent educators and organize the parent group meetings. For more information about the program call 256-844-8709 or go to www.hippyalabama.com.

Congress established the Appalachian Regional Commission in 1965 as a supplemental grant program to raise the standard of living, improve the quality of life and promote economic development in the Appalachian mountain region. The region includes 37 Alabama counties.

The Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs administers the ARC program in Alabama along with a wide range of other programs that support law enforcement, economic development, workforce development, recreation, energy conservation and water resource management.
Local matching funds of $42,000 will supplement the grant. 

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Contact: Russell Sellers, Larry Childers