STATE OF EDUCATION IN TENNESSEE: 2012-2013 – Section II: Education Priorities
STATE OF EDUCATION IN TENNESSEE: 2012-2013 – Section II: Education Priorities
Empower Parents
While it is important to focus on improving school-based factors that impact student learning, it is also essential to
empower parents with the resources and supports they need to help their children succeed. Research has shown
that family engagement in education, in particular having high expectations for children, can lead to improvements
in academic achievement.23 With students spending roughly two-thirds of their time outside of school, it is critical that parents facilitate and reinforce learning at home. Parent engagement in schools must be meaningful and
beneficial for both the families and the schools. Both parties need to have frequent and substantive communication
regarding student learning.
Parents
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Set high expectations for children, encourage children to take challenging coursework, establish a home
environment that fosters learning, and support children with homework and other academic pursuits.
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Establish relationships with children’s teachers and work together to help children be successful in the
classroom. Parents, students, and teachers should review student achievement data and projections regarding future performance to better understand children’s strengths and weaknesses.
Districts and Schools
•
Include parents in school and district decision making processes and work with the community to develop
parent leaders and representatives.
•
Engage families in sharing data and setting goals for students. Schools and districts not only need to share
student data with parents, but also must ensure that parents understand how to interpret and use the results to support their students. The state department of education and districts must work together to find
ways to return student data to the public in a more timely fashion. Parents need access to data as soon as
possible so that they can be engaged in meaningful conversations about their child’s education.
•
Provide parents with important and timely information about their child’s education. This practice has
contributed to the success of the 2012 SCORE Prize winning middle school, Rose Park Math and Science
Magnet. At Rose Park, all parents receive a copy of their child’s benchmarking scores, and administrators
make sure that parents are aware of the different tutoring opportunities available. The idea is that betterinformed parents can better support their children in order to maximize the effectiveness of the school’s
interventions.
The Expect More, Achieve More Coalition
•
Continue advocacy efforts for Common Core standards and educating community members. As schools
and districts across the state transition to the new, more rigorous Common Core standards and aligned
assessments, it is imperative that families are armed with the right information to help their children succeed.
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It is important to empower parents with the
resources and supports they need to help
their children succeed, particularly as the state
raises the bar in the classroom through higher
academic standards.
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