Native American Professional Parent Resources, Inc.

Following the mantra “healthy families make strong communities,” the Native American Professional Parent Resources, Inc. (NAPPR) provides culturally appropriate and sensitive services to Native American families in the greater Albuquerque area. NAPPR used the Strong Starts for Children initiative to train community and tribal leaders in engaging their communities in dialogues on issues of early childhood wellness. With a diverse coalition of grassroots leaders, parents, grandparents, members of the Zia Pueblo and NativeAmerican CommunityAcademy, and others, NAPPR involved more than a 100 people in dialogues, including many young people.

The dialogues led to people learning about and, ultimately, supporting the Native AmericanCommunity Academy’s plans to expand to serve elementary school students. Using listening sessions and “PhotoVoice,” a participatory photography method, dialogue participants solicited input from parents on the program design of the elementary school.

Members of the Zia Pueblo, who also took part in their own dialogues as part of NAPPR’s Strong Starts effort, chose to expand their language revitalization program as a result of taking part in the Strong Starts for Children dialogues.