EDUCATION: Guides Available To Help Parents Understand Common Core Standards

State education officials are working with the California State PTA to get information on the Common Core State Standards into the hands of parents across California, Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson announced today.

As part of this effort, the organizations are distributing the Parents’ Guide to Student Success—a series of resources designed to help parents understand what their children will be learning at each grade level in English-language arts and mathematics.

The guides are available in English and Spanish on the CDE Common Core State Standards Web site, as well as on California State PTA site.

“Parent Involvement Day is the perfect time to release these guides—because we know that well-informed, engaged parents can make all the difference in our work to give every student a world-class education,” Torlakson said. “With modern standards and assessments and a new approach to school funding, we have a historic opportunity for serving these students, their families, and our entire state.”

“This is a crucial time for public education,” said California State PTA President Colleen A.R. You. “The new Common Core standards will help us prepare all students for college and careers, and help them develop vital critical thinking and deeper learning skills. We’re delighted to have Superintendent Torlakson’s support in sharing information as widely as possible with parents about what the new standards will mean for their children and schools.”

Originally developed by the National PTA, each guide includes:

·       An overview of some of the key items students will learn in the Common Core State Standards for English-language arts and mathematics.

·       Ideas for activities that enable parents to support learning at home.

·       Topics of discussion for talking with teachers about student academic progress.

These state-developed standards, which California and 45 other states have voluntarily adopted over the past few years, are designed to provide all students with the deeper learning, critical thinking, and other skills they need to prepare for college and a career. They describe what students should know and be able to do at each grade level. --Contributed content