Parents Recruited For School HIV Program

Up to 75 Will Receive Training to Aid Teachers

Parents will help educate students about HIV-AIDS under a D.C. schools program scheduled to begin in the fall.

Administrators hope to have as many as 75 parents undergo a three-day training program this summer to prepare them to take on a variety of roles in and out of the classroom, including providing information directly to students and assisting teachers.

"They will not be replacing the teachers," said Marc D. Clark, director of HIV-AIDS education for the school system. "They will be part of a team and working with the counselor, physical educator or school nurse."

The program, Parents as Teachers Coordinating Health Education Strategies, or PATCHES, could include instruction on other health topics, such as obesity and nutrition, but Clark said the focus will be on HIV.

Grandparents and retired teachers are also eligible to participate, but getting parents into the program will be a greater priority, he said.

Washington has one of the nation's highest rates of new AIDS cases, and last month the city kicked off a campaign to encourage residents ages 14 to 85 to take a test to learn their HIV status.

In a 2005 report, the D.C. Appleseed Center for Law and Justice, a public service organization, was highly critical of the city's response to the AIDS epidemic. The center recommended that the city adopt systemwide health education standards, including instruction in HIV-AIDS prevention.

A follow-up report in March praised city officials for giving more attention to the epidemic. The report noted that School Superintendent Clifford B. Janey was months behind in complying with his school board's request for a plan to strengthen the system's HIV-AIDS policy.

Brenda Crowder-Gaines, PATCHES program manager for the city's Administration for HIV Policy and Programs, said the project was conceived with the belief that parents would be effective at relaying prevention messages such as practicing abstinence and using condoms.

"We also hope it will increase communication between parents and their own children," she said.

Program coordinators hope to place PATCHES parents part time in elementary, middle and high schools, along with age-appropriate curricula.

Sharon Baskerville, executive director of D.C. Primary Care Association, praised the concept but questioned whether teenagers would be receptive to messages delivered by parents.

"It's a great idea," she said, but added: "Don't anticipate kids will ask any questions. They'll still look at parents as parents."

Students might be reluctant to talk out of fear that the PATCHES adults might know the youths' parents and would not keep information confidential, she said.

Josephine Wineglass, 68, of Northeast is waiting to see if she has been accepted for PATCHES training. "I think it'd be an interesting approach to educate children," she said.

The program's first-year budget of $250,000 will be used for training, operational costs and stipends for the parents. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the city agency are funding it.

To qualify for PATCHES, parents must have at least a high school diploma, have children attending a D.C. public or charter school and undergo the three-day course. Clark said training will begin at the end of this month.

Participation in the program will not be mandatory for the District's schools, said Clark, who explained that each school's administration can decide whether to take part.