HIP to learning

Sandy Thompson

Monday, Nov. 2, 1998 | 9:48 a.m.

The packet contains simple items: Children's books, pencils, crayons, paper and a glue stick. But to Cassandra Bankston's 4-year-old daughter, it is a gift.

For Bankston, it is an investment in her daughter's education.

The packet is part of 30 weekly lessons provided by HIPPY Sunrise -- Home Instruction Program for Preschool Youngsters -- which is sponsored by the Sunrise Children's Hospital Foundation.

With HIPPY's guidance, Bankston teaches her daughter, Austi, and other children in the program their letters and shapes, and how to read. Each day they spend a minimum of 20 minutes on the assignments.

"It's a small investment for a great reward," Bankston says. "Over a period of time it adds up."

HIPPY Sunrise's goal is for parents to be their child's first -- and most important -- teacher, and that they be ready for kindergarten.

LaTonya Robinson, who has three children in the program, says the lesson plans are simple enough, but challenging. Her children love the fact that they have "homework."

Angela Triche, program director, says the program "pushes literacy big-time." Its curriculum also focuses on language development, problem solving, logical thinking and "perceptual discrimination skills."

HIPPY Sunrise serves low-income areas where many parents have dropped out of school and don't know how to prepare their children for kindergarten. Hence, the children don't even know their letters or numbers and are behind the rest of the class from the start. They have trouble catching up and lose interest in school. Many drop out.

"You want your child to come in on the cutting edge of the learning environment," Robinson says. If children don't know the basics, she adds,"a teacher must spend time (in the classroom) with kids who are behind, rather than taking them to a higher level."

The program, which provides all the materials, is free. A teacher with the program goes to the homes each week to check the progress and assignments. Many books, in Spanish and English, also are available through the program.

"It's easier for someone to come to your home to show you how to teach your child,' Bankston says.

Another advantage is that at home, children get more personal attention than they would in pre-school.

Juanita Cromwell, a single parent, says she can't afford pre-school "to get my child the knowledge he needs."

"Kids don't get the one-on-one they need (in pre-school). I don't want my child falling through the cracks," Cromwell says.

HIPPY Sunrise targets areas with low test scores and at-risk children. There are two program sites at Sherman Gardens Community Center and Matt Kelly Elementary School that serve about 200 families. Parents would like to see HIPPY expanded throughout the valley.

While HIPPY gives kids a head start in school, it differs from the well-known national Head Start programs. Triche says Head Start is center-based and works with children; HIPPY is home- and parent-based.

She says some parents have enjoyed the program so much that they have gone back to school themselves.

The cost of the program, for materials and instructors, is about $1,000 per family, Triche says. The funding is provided by Sunrise Children's Hospital Foundation and grants. The foundation supports a variety of other programs for children.

HIPPY, which has become an international program, is the result of a 1969 research project in Israel that studied home-based education for parents of preschool children. The first HIPPY families in Israel were immigrants with low education and limited incomes. As a result, many of the immigrant children lagged behind native Israeli children in school achievement.

HIPPY was imported to the United States 10 years ago, and established in Las Vegas more than two years ago.

Triche was attracted to the program because of its emphasis on the importance of home-based instruction and parental involvement in improving children's learning achievement.

Dee Land, president of Sunrise Children's Foundation, recently praised Triche for her work with the program and her selection as a national HIPPY instructor.

Triche is taking the home-based instruction concept one step further with a new program aimed at parents in the workplace. She hopes to contact employers about putting together lunch-time programs for parents to do role-playing and to learn how they can be more involved in their children's education.

Most of the children involved in HIPPY are 3 and 4 years old. When they are ready to enter kindergarten, they "graduate" from HIPPY.

Triche and the parents say kindergarten teachers know when a child has been through the program -- they are ahead of others in class.

When her daughter started the program, Bankston says, she wasn't very outgoing. Now, she has confidence.

Confidence and knowledge can make a difference in how successful children will be, especially in the early grades.

"You can't put a price on this," Robinson says. "You can't afford to pay for what the program opens up to children."

Parents also feel enriched by the program. They not only get to spend meaningful time with their children, but they feel "empowered."

"It puts you (the parent) in control," Robinson says. "You are your child's primary educator."