Bringing Learning Home

Michigan’s Parent Educator of the Year

by Linda Wacyk, Communication Specialist

During a recent Michigan snowstorm, parent educator Celia Ciecko trudged through piles of snow toting tubs of supplies for a weekly parent/child playgroup. She feared the effort would be wasted, since it seemed likely no parent would brave this kind of weather. To her surprise, the group set record attendance that day, hosting 16 parents and 23 children.

“We couldn’t miss play group!” parents assured Ciecko.

One of three Michigan 2003 Parent Educators of the Year, Ciecko has become one popular teacher. Since 2001, her job has been to share child development information and resources with parents in the Romeo Community School District. She provides this service as a parent educator for the district’s Comprehensive Access for Parenting Services (CAPS) program. CAPS is affiliated with Parents as Teachers® (PAT), a national, award-winning early childhood family education program that supports parents in their role as their child’s first and most influential teacher.

“Parenting is fun and exciting, but it can be overwhelming at times,” said Ciecko, a mother of two grown sons. “Parents aren’t sure what to expect from their children at various stages. I come alongside parents to help them give their child a strong start.”

Ciecko does this job so well that the Parents as Teachers National Center named her a 2003 Parent Educator of the Year. The award honors parent edu-cators whose practices exemplify the mission of the organization. Romeo Schools Superintendent John McEwan nominated Ciecko and Macomb County Intermediate School District (ISD) Early Childhood Consultant Sue Javid endorsed the nomination. McEwan and Javid both report that Ciecko’s warm, caring personality and strong knowledge of child development make her a real asset to parents, children, and the community.

“Celia’s certainly a valued member of our early childhood community in Macomb County,” said Javid.

Romeo’s program is one of more than 3,300 PAT programs worldwide. More than 100 of those are in Michigan. Susan Anderson-Hastings from Grand Traverse County and Dora Saucedo of Flint also received Michigan parent educator awards in 2003. Also in 2003, a National Parent Educator of the Year Award went to Michigan PAT teacher Anna Viau of the Hannahville PAT program in Escanaba.

“We were very proud to have had a national award winner from our state,” said Kathy Torrey, from PAT’s Michigan office at Life Services System in Holland. “We were also very impressed with the responses we received regarding Celia and how warmly she is received by parents in Romeo.”

Romeo Community Schools recognized Ciecko’s advocacy and dedication to PAT as such a valuable asset that the district continued funding PAT after state funding ended. Macomb County ISD originally received enough funds to pay for CAPS and PAT programs in eight of its school districts. However, in 2003, budget woes forced state lawmakers to cut short the proposed three-year All Students Achieve Program-Parent Involvement and Education (ASAP-PIE) grants that funded PAT programs in select districts across Michigan since 2001. Romeo Com-munity Schools assumed the full cost of the program and retained Ciecko as its full-time parent educator.

Early childhood education is not new to Ciecko, who taught young children for 17 years—even directing her own center—before working as a parent educator. She got involved with PAT because she saw the importance of involving parents early in their child’s learning. Literacy learning, especially, depends on children having parents who talk to, listen to, and read with their children right from birth, so Ciecko makes sure her program includes lots of fun experiences with language and books.

“I emphasize that literacy is not just about reading. We encourage families to use rhyme, song, and movement to enrich their times with books,” said Ciecko. “I can see parents growing in the way they talk and use language with their children, based on what we’ve modeled for them.”

Like all PAT programs, Romeo’s CAPS program includes four basic components:

• Personal home visits by a certified parent educator. Ciecko currently visits 28 homes once or twice a month.
• Group meetings with other parents. Ciecko conducts play groups three times a week and parent meetings (with speakers and activities) three times per month.
• Periodic screening of overall development, language, hearing, and vision. Ciecko says this screening serves two purposes. First, it helps parents become better observers of their child and how s/he is developing. Second, it helps the district identify and provide early intervention for children with developmental delays or disabilities that could prevent them from learning.
• Referral network linking families with other resources.

As a native Spanish speaker, Ciecko meets the needs of the community’s large Hispanic population. She keeps a growing supply of Spanish/English children’s books on hand, and she encourages families to speak to their children in both Spanish and English. She points to research that shows when children hear and use a first language that is rich and complex, they learn to read and write much more easily and even learn their second language more quickly.

“When I first came to Romeo, I had no idea we had such a large Hispanic population. I’ve really been able to reach out and involve them in their children’s learning,” said Ciecko. She has seen parents’ early involvement expand into their children’s school years. “I try to link parents to the schools. I don’t want any parent to walk into school for the first time on their child’s first day of kindergarten.”

As for the award, Ciecko's not sure why she was selected. She believes all the parent educators she encounters work as hard as she does. Nevertheless, her passion for families is apparent—in her conversation and in what she’s getting done.

“Working with PAT has truly been an awesome experience,” said Ciecko. “To watch these kids grow and develop, to be right beside their parents as the children reach milestones is so exciting—we’ve shared so much together. I know the parents are now prepared to give their kids the best start possible.”

For more information about the CAPS program, contact: Celia Ciecko, Romeo Community Schools, 316 N. Main St., Romeo, MI 48065, (586) 336-6800, celia.ciecko@romeo.k12.mi.us.

For more information about early childhood programs in Macomb County, contact: Sue Javid at Macomb ISD, 44001 Garfield Road, Clinton Township, MI 48038, (586) 228-3480, sjavid@misd.net.

You can learn more about Parents as Teachers and find a program near you by visiting www.patnc.org or calling (866)-PAT4YOU. For more information about training opportunities, call Michigan Parents as Teachers, Life Services System of Ottawa County, 11172 Adams, Holland, MI 49423, (616) 396-7566, ktorrey@lifeservicessystem.org.

The Michigan Parent Educator of the Year is awarded just before National PAT day, which is celebrated the first weekend in November.

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