PAT Core Courses

person smiling at laptop during online training

Parents as Teachers Courses

The Pennsylvania PAT State Office maintains a qualified, experienced state training team in collaboration with the National Parents as Teachers Center. The state office organizes the offering of PAT core model and curricula courses for parent educators, home visitors, and supervisors in PAT Model Affiliate and PAT Curriculum Partners and Subscriber programs.

The courses offered by the Pennsylvania PAT State Office are listed below. These links are private to Pennsylvania programs until two weeks before the class. When you select a Pennsylvania-instructed course, the PAT State office receives a small portion of the registration fee, supporting our capacity to offer professional learning and implementation support.

Individuals must complete the required courses, noted below, to be certified to use the PAT curricula and/or implement the PAT Model to serve families.

These courses provide PAT professionals with the knowledge and skills to effectively see the strengths of the families they serve and build on resources available to meet their needs. The courses address the developmental growth of the child; provide strengths-based approaches to build Strengthening Families™ Protective Factors; depict parenting practices that support healthy child development; encourage cultural sensitivity; and address equitable practices among parent educators and home visitors.

All courses are live and conducted virtually. Attendance at all sessions and completion of assignments is required.

Foundational and Model Implementation Course

Audience: Parent educators, home visitors, and supervisors of Affiliate programs.
(Required for new parent educators/home visitors and new supervisors of affiliate programs.)

This interactive 40-hour certification course includes the Foundational and the Model Implementation through live, online sessions and work completed by participants in between scheduled classes.

Designed for PAT Affiliate staff who will use the PAT Model with the Foundational Curriculum to support families from the prenatal period to the child’s third birthday.
Discover strategies to help fully understand ways to bring high quality PAT services to life and implement these services with fidelity to the evidence-based PAT Model.
Learn the PAT approach and demonstrate a basic level of competency in navigation and utilization of the online PAT Foundational Curriculum and Model Implementation web-based resource materials.

Participants who successfully complete both parts of this course become certified to use the PAT foundational curricula and implement the PAT model in affiliate programs.

parent tickling and laughing with their baby

Young mother holding her infant and speaking to a home visitor

Foundational Course (only)

Audience: PAT Curriculum Partners and Subscribers.

This interactive course focuses on the PAT approach for those serving families from the prenatal period to the child’s third birthday, and teaches the PAT “partner, facilitate, and reflect” approach to home visitation within an early childhood system centering around three main areas:

Parent-Child Interaction – enhancing child development and supporting the development of positive parenting behaviors.
Development-Centered Parenting – understanding parents’ perspectives and facilitating parenting decisions around developmental topics.
Family Well-Being – recognizing the impact of the family system on child development and partnering with parents to strengthen protective factors.

Participants who successfully complete this course are approved to use the PAT Foundational Curriculum with families from the prenatal period to the child’s third birthday.

Foundational 2 Course: 3 Years through Kindergarten

Audience: Affiliate staff, PAT Curriculum Partners, and Subscribers
(Prerequisite: Foundational Course.)

This interactive course continues the focus on the PAT approach for those serving families with children ages 3 to 6. Participants will explore curriculum for families whose children are growing in independence and abilities as they approach school entry.

Topics include:

Approaches to learning.
Neuroscience.
Child development.
Developmental concerns.
Transitions to early care and education.
Family engagement.

Participants who successfully complete this course are approved to use the PAT Foundational 2 Curriculum for work with families with children aged 3 through their kindergarten year.

Father and son with shaving cream beards and laughing

The PAT Foundation and Foundation 2 curriculum are available in a digital format and are regularly updated.

The digital curriculum include handouts and activities for families, as well as resources that support knowledge and skill development for parent educators and home visitors.