Parents as Teachers Polytech Scholarship Awardee: Ana Sanchez-Anderson

By: Stephanie Wagner

Congratulations to Ana Sanchez-Anderson, who recently won the 2025 Mildred Winter Founder’s Scholarship. The awardee of this scholarship receives funding to attend the Parents as Teachers National Conference, which is considered the premier conference for parent educators and early childhood education. Learn more about Mildred M. Winter and what makes this scholarship so prestigious.

Ana was nominated for this scholarship by her supervisor, Stephanie Wagner, who provided very detailed responses to the required application for the scholarship.

Below is some of the information Stephanie provided on the nomination application submitted to the Parents as Teachers National Office.

Why should this professional be the recipient of this scholarship? 

Ana wants to learn and share everything she can with her families. Ana is hard-working and goes above and beyond for her PAT families, her community, and fellow parent educators. Ana serves 17 PAT families while carrying a full-time job and being a single parent. Ana always steps up to support her co-workers and is ready to help in any way she can.

Please describe how this professional exemplifies the characteristics of Parents as Teachers founder Mildred Winter, in honor of whom the scholarships are awarded.

When I read the biography, something jumped off the page immediately and made me think of Ana. Mildred once wrote, “The Parents as Teachers program can be considered Missouri’s gift to the field of early childhood education.” Her biography goes on to say, “Mrs. Winter herself was a gift to parents, children, and educators throughout Missouri and the world.” I think this of Ana and Sussex County, Delaware. Ana is a true gift to our program and ultimately to the many families she serves. Like Mildred, Ana is a strong advocate of the PAT program and serves the Hispanic community in Sussex County. Ana immigrated to the U.S. many years ago and understands many of these families in Sussex County. She is deeply embedded in her community and feels strongly that immigrant parents, especially, can benefit from the PAT program. She understands the struggles of coming to a new country and the many barriers these families face. It is her passion to serve these families to assist them in their journey into school and family success.