Eufaula City Schools-HIPPY program is back in the groove of things with pre-testing, home visits and group meetings. HIPPY which is the acronym for Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters is a free educational program that we bring to the parent at their convenience. It is a program designed for parents that have children ages 3-5 years old in the home. If you are a grandparent, Aunt or Uncle that is responsible for the care of a child within this age range, you qualify too. Studies show that children who have participated in the HIPPY program are better students, with better study habits, better grades, better test scores and higher graduation rate. This means better jobs for those participants and a better community.

On Thursday night, October 17^th we had our first group meeting of the year where our participating families came to central office, and, while the children were busy playing and earning prizes with the wonderful ladies from Christ Child Circle the parents were enjoying a comical skit of a mock role play, starring Jeanette Anglin, Shantell Jackson and Alma Bludsworth and can be found on our HIPPY Facebook page. At the end of the meeting we announced our lucky door prize winner which was Jennifer Darby who had won a TAG reader along with a 6 book pack for her child. Our door prizes come from grant monies provided by Wal-Mart and MEAD Westvaco and will only get better.

Group meetings are meant to enrich our families and upon filling out the enrollment application, our parents are surveyed to see what kind of enrichment activities they would like to have. Our first one is always an orientation to the program and we served light refreshments. We have several grand activities in the planning and it is our family participation that makes each one successful.

Each of our participating families receives about 34 home visits a year from trained Home Visitors or Parent Educators. They bring a structured curriculum, along with all of the materials needed to carry out the activities, and they work with the parents for one hour. These visits empower the parent, and remind them that they are their child’s first teacher. Together, we all become one great big family. We all share a common bond and that is the fact that their child’s education is the utmost important task and by working together we secure their futures and ours.

Our HIPPY program is brought to the Barbour County community through the Eufaula City School System. We are able to serve all of Eufaula and a portion of Clayton at this time. This program is in its 6^th year and continues to grow and make its mark in the school system. We are also proud to be serving our Hispanic community in their own Spanish language. The teachers will tell us that within a couple of weeks they can tell which of their children are or have been in the HIPPY program. That is wonderful news to us.

As always we are very grateful for the great support that we get from our Participants, surrounding businesses, partnerships and the community as a whole. Together we can make a difference. Together we can change the world by helping one family at a time.