Project Jordan

“The children in my class that have been in the Project Jordan are more self-sufficient…they know how to do more for themselves. They also enjoy being the teacher’s helper and make great tutors for the other children.”

–Diana P., K3 teacher

History

Formed in 2005, Project Jordan is named after a disadvantaged baby girl who made Shepherd Community Center aware of the deep need for an ongoing, positive program to help parents provide a head start for their children.

Project Jordan is the first step in our Continuum of Care. The program was built around the fact that parents are their children’s first and more influential teachers. The goal of Project Jordan is to provide service to families to help prepare children for success in school and in life by supporting and encouraging healthy parental involvement. To accomplish this goal, Project Jordan addresses social and emotional development in children ages 0-3, which will lay a solid foundation for future achievement.

Since the start of the program, our Parent Educators have excitedly witnessed the growth of the program. In 2005, Project Jordan supported 3 babies and their families. Today, we carefully work with more than 30 babies from families of diverse backgrounds.

Program

At Shepherd, we believe the key to breaking the cycle of poverty lies in education. Project Jordan uses a Parent Educator to teach parents healthy parenting skills and works with them to understand and support their child’s development.

There are three parts to Project Jordan: personal visits, group meetings, and screenings and evaluations. Each contributes to the overall goal to optimize healthy child development, encourage positive parent-child interactions, and connect families to resources as needed.

Personal Visits

monthly to semi-monthly visits that focus on encouraging parent-child interaction and child development
training with evidence-based curriculum tailored to the parents’ strengths and weaknesses to better the family environment and increase school readiness of their child

Group Meetings

quarterly group meetings that cover the basics of parenting and child development. Past training session have covered topics like large muscle development (games and activities designed for parent-child play) and summertime safety (handling sunburns, swimming pool safety, treating insect bites)
opportunities for parents to socialize and build a community of caring parents in their neighborhood

Screenings and Evaluations

free annual hearing and vision screenings
annual evaluation of the children’s development on the whole
annual parent satisfaction evaluations so Shepherd knows how best to help the parents and children of Project Jordan

Objectives and Outcomes

Research shows a key indicator of a child's future academic success is being a competent reader in third grade, and that children that excel in early elementary are likely to graduate high school. In a recent study, children who were actively engaged in developmental programs like Project Jordan did better academically later in their school career:

82% of poor children who participated with high intensity in early childhood experiences (such as preschool) entered kindergarten ready to learn, as compared to only 64% of poor children who had no involvement in either service.
At the third grade level, 88% of poor children who participated with high intensity in early childhood experiences (such as preschool) reached a benchmark level of performance on the Missouri Assessment Program Communication Arts test, as compared to 77% of poor children who had no involvement in either service.

Based on these results, Project Jordan seeks to provide parents with the necessary tools to understand their child’s development and to create a positive learning atmosphere. For example, at the end of the program, a parent will demonstrate improved:

knowledge of age-appropriate child development in cognitive, language, and literacy, social-emotional, and motor domains;
feeling of competence and confidence in parenting policies;
ability to recognize and seek help for child vision, hearing and health issues; and
awareness of and access to resources for information and support.

A child will have:

improved school readiness and school success through enhanced cognitive abilities, motor skills, physical well-being, and language and literacy skills;
fewer unidentified developmental delays; and
fewer unaddressed health issues.

Get Involved

We are always looking for volunteer Parent Educators who are committed to working with parents and their babies. To learn more about Project Jordan, please contact Sharon Parman at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.