Great Parents, Great Start

Great Parents, Great Start is a parent involvement and educational program for families of young children birth to age five started by Governor Jennifer Granholm when she took office.  At Bay-Arenac ISD, the Great Parents, Great Start program offers Universal services to all parents of children, ages 0 to age 5, through The Imagination Library, which registers all Bay and Arenac County children at birth and sends a book a month to the child's home until they turn five, free of charge.  Registration forms are on the Imagination Library site at http://www.baisd.net/imagination_library.htm. Intensive services to families who have children ages 0-3 using the Even Start model which includes home visits; child development and family support services; learning opportunities for children which promote growth in the areas of cognitive, social-emotional, and physical development; monthly parent meetings; program planning, parent education, and family activities; program newsletters; family book lending library and parent resource library; development of child and family goals through the Family Literacy Plan process; and coordination with other community services. At the Great Start for Kids website, parents can click on their county of residence and find a host of services that are available to them in their home area. Click on the Great Start logo to access the Michigan County Map.