Remote Learning for Pre-K Children

By Dawn Dawson | Senior Director, Office of Early Learning, Wake County Public School System

As you can imagine, many Wake County families are struggling with parenting young children while school buildings are closed. During this time, the Wake County Public School System (WCPSS) is providing a variety of resources and services specifically designed to support families with pre-kindergarten children.

WCPSS has remote learning resources available online for all parents, while pre-k teachers continue to instruct students through Google Meet and provide educational activities to families. Teachers are staying in contact with families to answer questions and maintain critical family-school partnerships. Additionally, iPads and hotspots have been provided to pre-k students without devices or internet access and the district has distributed instructional kits, including crayons, paper, picture books, scissors, and activity packets, to support pre-k student learning at home.

Staff distributing instructional packets and iPads to Pre-K families.

WCPSS offers a variety of supports for families of young children, including the Positive Parenting Program (Triple P), parent counseling, and Parents as Teachers.

Positive Parenting Program (Triple P) Wake
Positive Parenting Program (Triple P), an evidence-based parenting program, continues to provide much needed support to families in Wake County. The Triple P Wake Team is using virtual platforms and phone calls to stay connected with the families they support.

Triple P America has developed Resources for Parenting During COVID-19 that have been shared widely with families and community agencies. Triple P Online is a free resource that is available to all families in North Carolina. This provides support for families with children ages 0-16 and has recently been updated to include a module specifically focused on parenting in uncertain times.

Laura Price, a Bilingual Triple P Parent Educator, provides Triple P support to a family in a virtual session.

Parent Counseling
Wake County Parent Counselors, a free service that provides one-on-one and group counseling services to families of children five and under, continues to provide services by phone and virtual support. Topics such as “Parenting Through Power Struggles”, “Building Social Skills While Social Distancing”, and “Supporting Sibling Interactions During A Stay At Home Order” are available group sessions.

Parents As Teachers
Parents As Teachers (PAT) is a free and voluntary early learning program for eligible parents with children prenatal through kindergarten age. Recognizing that parents are their child’s first and most influential teachers, participants receive bi-monthly home visits by certified parent educators, who enable parents to understand the stages of development and ways to encourage learning through simple, everyday activities. Group connections, developmental screenings, and a resource network are provided. PAT staff continue to serve families through phone calls, virtual visits, and virtual Group Connections.

For more information about any of these programs, please go to https://www.wcpss.net/earlylearning.