About Us – P T & A is a 501c3 non-profit organization, located in metro Atlanta, providing parenting education in the three important areas of:

·        Parenting skills: Parents need to learn to recognize behavior patterns as indicators that things are going very well or extremely wrong.  This knowledge will enable them to raise their children effectively by being helpful and supportive during difficult times, knowing when to step in as advocates and when to let their children fend for themselves. Parenting is about helping children to become responsible contributing adults.  Modeling appropriate behavior and lifestyle is a parent’s most important obligation.

•     Relational Intimacy: Teaching children to relate to people on an intimate and personal level is an important aspect of development. Parents must help children learn to relate to others through a mind, heart and soul connection.  When children learn true friendship based on heart connections they learn to connect to another on a truly intimate level.

·        Advocacy assistance:  Our aim is to train parents not only in the educational process, but how to get involved and stay involved in their children’s education. Advocacy means understanding the child and their needs.  Parents must know the principles of how the educational system works and what it is designed to do.  Many parents simply believe it is the school’s responsibility to educate their children and fail to take a serious personal interest in the process. We want parents to be an active member of their child’s educational team.

History – The foundation of the PT&A was developed over a 12 year period, culminating in October 2006 with the creation of the Straight Arrow Parenting Curriculum (SAWPC) which is the keystone of PT&A’s teachings.  SAWPC was originally conceived by Barbara E. Harvey while working on her masters of arts in Early Childhood Education at Oral Roberts University in 1992, and was later fully developed by Barbara, Geri McElroy and the parents of the Child Development Association in Roswell, GA.   PT&A has been in existence since October 2006, and has taught over 200 parents.

Who should attend? - P T & A operates in the Metro Atlanta, focusing on Fulton, Gwinnett and DeKalb counties, and will most benefit the following four groups of parents: 

Customer Need - Parent education in the past has been an industry targeting the areas of neo-natal training, children younger than six, children with disabilities and parents who are in the foster/adoptive process.  In the United States and in Atlanta, there are few agencies that serve parents of non-disabled children over the age of five.

Our goal is to reach parents whose children are transferring from pre-school into the school setting, parents who are in the court system, and those parents who want solid training in becoming educational supporters for their children.  The reason these services are needed is because parents are experiencing serious issues with the educational system and can find themselves needing help in a variety of areas.  Additionally, our court systems are seeing an unattractive return rate of juveniles through the system, which can be mitigated through proper parenting education.

Customer Benefits – Parents will see improvements regarding happier children, better adjusted children and more engaged family interaction due of the parenting education classes.  Parents can expect to feel less alone in the educational process, better equipped to handle issues at school and home, and the comfort of knowing there is someone they can talk to when problems arise.