Bright Beginnings Receives National Recognition as a Blue Ribbon affiliate

Kent ISD's Bright Beginnings program has earned its second Blue Ribbon endorsement from a national organization that promotes early educational development for children.

Bright Beginnings serves families with children from birth through kindergarten in Kent County.  Program services are free and include playgroups, home visits, screenings and referrals for all families in Kent County or those that attend a Kent ISD school district. Bright Beginnings has been a Blue Ribbon Affiliate of Parents as Teachers since 2019 and received the 2024 endorsement in October.

Being named a Blue Ribbon Affiliate means that Bright Beginnings is a high-quality member of the home visiting field, implementing the evidence-based Parents as Teachers model. The program empowers and educates parents with knowledge and resources to prepare their children for a stronger start in life and greater success in school. Bright Beginnings believes that parents are their child's first and best teachers and uses a coaching model to support parent and child learning.

"I am incredibly proud of our team of Parent Educators at Bright Beginnings who lead learning every day as they educate and empower parents to support our youngest students in Kent County," says Karen Lezan, Bright Beginnings Coordinator and Supervisor for Kent ISD.  "As a constantly evolving and improving program, this Blue Ribbon endorsement affirms our focus on the earliest years of life, because those years hold both the most vulnerability and the most opportunity for children."

To learn more, to see the resources that are available to Kent County, and to meet our Parent Educator team, visit our Bright Beginnings web pages.