06/06/2026
Workforce development starts earlier than many people think.
It starts in the earliest years with parents and caregivers, trusted relationships, strong support systems, and children who are healthy, safe, and learning.
Carol Cortes, Parents as Teachers Program Manager at Good Samaritan Community Services, recently joined Texas Public Radio’s The Source for a live panel conversation on early childhood education as a workforce strategy in San Antonio.
Her words captured the heart of this work:
“They’re looking to find more skills, or they’re questioning their skills, or some of them even tell us we want to break generational things that we’ve learned back then that we now, as adults, see that that’s not right.”
Parents as Teachers is built around the belief that parents and caregivers are a child’s first and most influential teachers. Through trusted, evidence-based, relationship-centered support, families can build confidence, strengthen parent-child connection, and create strong starts that last well beyond the earliest years.
The key takeaway: when communities invest in families early, they are also investing in school readiness, economic mobility, and a stronger future workforce.
Thank you to Carol, Texas Public Radio, and David Martin Davies for helping bring this important conversation forward.
Read and listen to the full conversation from The Source: https://www.tpr.org/podcast/the-source/2026-05-20/san-antonio-panel-examines-early-childhood-education-as-workforce-strategy
Texas Parents as Teachers
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