State education officials partner with California PTA to offer Common Core resource for parents

What do the Common Core standards look like in the classroom?

Parents and community members can now read lesson samples and learn how to support the standards at home through a new online resource made available by the California Department of Education and the state PTA.

Both organizations are promoting a series of reader-friendly PDF brochures called “Parents’ Guide to Student Success.” Available in English and Spanish, these grade-level guides feature an overview of key Common Core lessons in English and math, suggestions for supporting learning at home and tips for parents on how to talk to teachers about their children’s academic progress.

The series, which was originally developed by the national PTA, can be accessed here.

“Parent Involvement Day is the perfect time to release these guides,” State Superintendent Tom Torlakson said last week, “because we know that well-informed, engaged parents can make all the difference in our work to give every student a world-class education. 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.”

The Common Core standards, which happen to align nicely with IUSD's own Continuous Improvement Efforts, were crafted to promote the knowledge and skills necessary for students to pursue competitive colleges and careers. They've been adopted by 45 other U.S. states, and they're prompting big changes to California's standardized testing program.

IUSD has more information about the standards on its Common Core webpage.