Just because children start school doesn't mean a parent's role as teacher ends, said Carla Aufdenberg, parent educator and facilitator of the Cape Girardeau public school's new Practical Parenting Partnerships program.

Aufdenberg, formerly a parent educator with the district's Parents as Teachers program, said the new program is an offshoot of Parents as Teachers, which serves parents of children ages birth through 3. Practical Parenting Partnerships is designed for families of school-aged children.

Two introductory meetings are planned next week.

Parents with children at Jefferson, Franklin and May Greene schools will meet Dec. 8 from 7-8 p.m. at the Evangelical United Church of Christ, 37 S. Ellis.

Parents with children attending Alma Schrader, Clippard and Washington schools will meet Dec. 9 from 7-8 p.m. at the Cape Girardeau Public Library, 711 N. Clark.

Cape Girardeau is one of 21 pilot programs in Missouri starting Practical Parenting Partnerships this year.

The program, designed by the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, could be used for school-aged children from kindergarten through senior high school. Cape Girardeau officials have decided to start with families of children in kindergarten through third-grade, or those 5-8 years of age.

Aufdenberg said group meetings on specific subjects will be the format for the program. Sometimes Aufdenberg will speak about child development or ideas for activities at home; other times experts from the community will make presentation. Some meetings will be designed to let parents talk with each other about their children.

"Parents might wonder if they are the only ones who say `no,' or if other parents have trouble with discipline," she said. "This provides a good opportunity for parents to learn from each other."

Group meetings will begin in January.

Topics could include communicating effectively with children, discipline techniques, dealing with sibling rivalry, or homework issues.

Aufdenberg said she will poll parents at the orientation meetings to see what topics they are interested in learning more about.

Aufdenberg and Richard Bollwerk, director of elementary education for the school district, attended training in October.

The program is funded by an $8,800 incentive grant from Missouri's Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. The grant requires that 10 percent of the amount be generated in in-kind donations to the program.

"I think the state wants the community to support the program," she said.

The program is a partnership including parents, educators and others.

Aufdenberg said she hopes teachers in the school district will be involved in the program as well as parents.

Aufdenberg said: "Children never stop learning. Even though children are in school, parents still need to work with them at home.

"I don't mean parents have to sit down and do activities or workbook pages. But there are lots of things parents can do like take children on little field trips or help them learn the concept of money," she said. "At the grocery store, talk about food labels; as you check out talk about how much money you have spent and where the money comes from."

Educating children is a big responsibility, Aufdenberg said. Families need support in educating their children; schools too need support in meeting the needs of individual students, she said.