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Community Engagement
Colorado PTA Position on Education Standards

Colorado PTA is pleased to announce its support of the Colorado Academic Standards as they align with the Common Core State Standards and has partnered with the Colorado Department of Education to develop parent, family, and teacher resources to help understand what those standards consist of.

Colorado PTA supports Standards-Based Education. This is based on a position taken in 1996 titled “Standards-Based Education (PS-1996)” which states that “The Colorado PTA supports standards-based education in Colorado schools as implemented in House Bill 93-1313, focusing on standards for what students should learn in academic subjects, measurements of their progress in meeting the standards, and changes in curriculum to help them meet the standards.”

Please visit our Colorado Academic Standards page to learn more! You can also download the Parents Guide to Assessments in Colorado (Spanish Translation)!

National PTA Position on Education Standards

National PTA has adopted several position statements and resolutions, beginning in 1981, in support of voluntary, clearer, higher academic standards for all students. National PTA’s position statement on Education Emphasis covers PTA’s position on standards. Specifically, National PTA:

  • Supports nationally agreed upon voluntary standards if they are derived by consensus at the state and local levels. Parents must be involved in this process.
  • Opposes federal legislation and/or regulations that mandate standardized testing or would lead to such testing, as well as federal policies that mandate comparisons of states, school districts, or individual schools and student retention based on a single test or sole criterion and the practice of social promotion.
  • Believes that valid assessment does not consist of only a single test score, and that at no time should a single test be considered the sole determinant of a student’s academic or work future.
National PTA recently released a Common Core video series to educate parents on the standards and empower them to support the transition at school and home. The series features 14 videos—developed in partnership with the Hunt Institute—to dispel the myths and provide accurate information about Common Core.
Watch the series at PTA.org/CCSSVideos.

For more information you can visit National PTA.

Common Core: Standards, Not Curriculum
Assessment and the Common Core
Common Core Overview: The Need for Improved Student Outcomes
Reflections on the Common Core From Educators

Successful Family-School Partnerships

PTA’s process for building successful partnerships starts with the National Standards for Family-School Partnerships and consists of three steps:
  • Raising awareness about the power of family and community involvement.
  • Taking action to cultivate involvement through specific programs and practices.
  • Celebrating success as your school sees increased involvement and its impact.
    • Standard 1

    Welcoming All Families

    Actions for making families feel welcomed, valued and connected to each other and the school.
    Standard 2

    Communicating Effectively

    The building blocks to effective communication between parents, schools and parent groups.
    Standard 3

    Supporting Student Success

    Encouraging parent involvement to heighten student achievement.
    Standard 4

    Speaking Up for Every Child

    Methods for becoming an effective advocate for children and their education.
    Standard 5

    Sharing Power

    Ways to share power between families, students, teachers, school staff and the community.
    Standard 6

    Collaborating With Community

    Resources for connecting the school with the community.

    National PTA’s STEM Initiative

    STEM + Families PTA’s vision is that all students have the family and community support needed to access and pursue STEM opportunities and careers.

    The Smart Talk

    Your kid is awesome. Smartphones are awesome. But awkward conversations about online safety and privacy? Not so awesome. Until now. The Smart Talk gets parents and kids together to have a clear conversation about all the devices you use and how to be responsible.

    Family Engagement Tools

    Today’s PTA is the vehicle through which engaged parents can accomplish great things for their children and ensure their overall success.

    The Positive Relationship Between Family Involvement and Student Success

    When families are involved in their children’s learning both at home and at school, their children do better in school. The report also points to specific types of involvement as being especially beneficial to children’s academic success.

    College and Career Readiness

    As parents, one of our goals is to make sure our children receive a high school diploma. But – what does this diploma mean? What can students actually accomplish when they graduate? Does the diploma mean they have the skills needed for the next steps in life? Are students actually prepared for college or career?