JACKSON, Miss. – The Mississippi Department of Education (MDE)developed family guides to assist with grade-level at home strategies and activities that support both student and parent understanding of the English language arts and mathematics standards. Parents can use the activity booklets at home to support what their children are learning in the classroom.
The Family Guide for Student Success booklets outline what children should know and be able to do in English language arts and mathematics at each grade level from pre-kindergarten through 8thgrade. Dr. Carey Wright, state superintendent of education, said parents understand best their child’s needs, strengths, abilities and interests, and they can partner with their child’s teacher to provide opportunities to learn and grow.
“Parents are their child’s first teacher in life. That responsibility doesn’t end when a child enters school. These guides were created to encourage parents and children by reinforcing classroom activities at home and to build a strong partnership with their teachers,” Wright said.
The guides list expectations for children at each grade level and activities that families can do at home. They will be translated into Spanish and available to parents and teachers in October.
Robin Lemonis, MDE’s director of Student Intervention Services in the Office of Elementary Education and Reading, led the project to create the booklets as a resource for parents who wanted to help their children reach learning goals but needed examples of how to do it.
“Often parents do not understand the terminology and methodology associated with the standards that their child is expected to learn in each individual grade. This project stemmed from my desire to simplify the language used within the standards so parents could help support their child’s learning. In addition, it provides teachers with an opportunity to communicate the needs of the student and offers them a chance to model and share these simple strategies and activities with parents,” she said.
MDE staff and Mississippi teachers contributed their expertise and time in the development of the guides. The following teachers contributed to the guides: Brandy Howell with the Itawamba County School District, Beth Garcia with the Rankin County School District, Jena Howie with the Yazoo City Municipal School District, and Janalee Leak and Paula Phillips with the North Tippah School District.
“I want to thank staff and teachers for all the hard work they put into creating these booklets. I believe that these resources will help build students’ knowledge and skills and provide a strong foundation for academic success,” Wright said.
The guides can be found here http://mdek12.org/ESE/