Reaching Out to Parents--How to Talk About Common Core

As every educator knows, having active, involved, supportive parents can make an enormous difference for students. No doubt you have heard questions or concerns from the parents of your students about what Common Core State Standards will mean for their children, and how CCSS will impact students.

These resources from the National PTA are a great place to help begin the conversation with parents. There is a brochure with parent FAQs about student success, plus longer booklets geared toward parents of K-8 students. The focus is on math and ELA standards, and the parent guides offer suggested methods and activities for extending learning beyond the classroom into the home, and key things to know about CCSS. There are even tips for parents of high schoolers about college and career planning.

Knowing and understanding parent concerns, and getting ideas about how to address them better will help you partner with parents as you implement CCSS instruction and assessment in your classroom! Let them know about these great resources, and TAKE A LOOK at them yourself so you can be prepared for conversations and collaboration!