New PTA parent guide explains Common Core Standards

The National Parent Teacher Association recently released guides for parents explaining the Common Core State Standards. The Parents’ Guide to Student Success aims to empower parents to work with state and district leaders to ensure that the Common Core State Standards are implemented effectively in schools across the country.

Now that more than 40 states have adopted the standards, at least 86 percent of students across the country will be taught to the new standards in coming years. National PTA is releasing one guide for each grade, K-8, and two guides for high school in English language arts and mathematics. There are a total of 11 guides.

National PTA has supported the Common Core State Standards Initiative since 2009. Created by teachers, parents, education experts, and others from across the country, the standards provide clear, consistent expectations for what students should be learning at each grade in order to be prepared for college and career.

“As the standards are implemented within the next few years throughout the country, a key part of the work will be to help parents talk about and understand how they can be used to improve their children’s chances for success,” said National PTA President Charles J. “Chuck” Saylors. “These guides will help parents do just that.”

PTA leaders will play a pivotal role in working with state and district education leaders as they create plans to implement the standards. Tens of thousands of local PTAs nationwide have received the guides to encourage parent leaders to have conversations about how PTA can partner with education leaders on the implementation of the standards.

Guides’ four key components

  • Key items that children should be learning in English and math in each grade;
  • Activities that parents can do at home to support their child’s learning;
  • Ways parents can build stronger relationships with their child’s teacher; and
  • Tips for planning for college and career (high school guides only).

Get your guide

The guides are available in English and Spanish online.

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