Keiki O Ka Aina Family Programs - HIPPY / Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters

PARENT INVOLVEMENT

HIPPY gives parents the tools, skills and confidence they need to act as primary educators of their children

• HIPPY teaches parents how to engage with their children in educational activities.

• HIPPY delivers services through home visits by trained peers from within the community.

• HIPPY begins with the basic tenet that all parents want the very best for their children, but might need support and help in developing their children's potential.

• HIPPY works because of its peer-to-peer model, because parents are engaged early and in a positive way, and because it is an esteem builder for parent and child, since learning becomes a fun routine and leads to school success and literacy.

SCHOOL READINESS

School readiness skills are necessary for any child entering Kindergarten and range from early literacy skills, to problem solving skills, and the ability to listen and follow instructions.

• HIPPY offers skill development through a variety of approaches.

• HIPPY's curriculum is developmentally appropriate and builds on the children's interests and maturing skills.

• HIPPY is primarily cognitive based focusing on language development, problem solving, logical thinking and perceptual skills.

• HIPPY fosters social-emotional and physical development in children.

• HIPPY's curriculum covers the skills necessary to acquire reading and other literacy skills including phonemic awareness (phonics), identifying letters and words and the joy of reading, etc.

About HIPPY

HIPPY is an international program that started in Israel in 1969 and has since spread to Turkey, Germany, Chile, Mexico, New Zealand, South Africa and other countries. The HIPPY program came to the United States in 1984. HIPPY USA is the national office for the network of HIPPY programs in the United States, with the primary responsibilities of providing training and technical assistance; developing and improving the curriculum and the HIPPY model; outreach, advocacy and national collaborations; and national data collection and evaluation initiatives.

All HIPPY programs around the world follow the HIPPY model: a developmentally appropriate curriculum, with role play as the method of teaching, staffed with home visitors from the community, supervised by a professional coordinator and with home visits interspersed with group meetings as the delivery methods. A model HIPPY site serves up to 180 children with one coordinator and 12-18 part-time home visitors. There are currently 172 HIPPY sites in 26 states, DC and the Island of Guam. HIPPY served 16,307 children with 892 home visitors. 66% of the families used the HIPPY curriculum in English and 22% used the HIPPY curriculum in Spanish.

The HIPPY program has resulted in positive outcomes for the participating children and parents, as well as for the communities where it is implemented. The longer-term impacts on children's school success were recently evidenced in an Arkansas study conducted to measure the effects HIPPY had on students who completed two full years of the program and who were now enrolled in third and sixth grades.