Local PTA Receives Grant to Educate Parents on New Standards

Jefferson County's 15th District PTA is one of six national recipients of a grant to educate parents and community members about the Common Core State Standards, which go into effect this year.All but six states have adopted the new standards, which aim to unify what students are expected to learn regardless of where they live.“If they are teaching about rhyming in kindergarten in Kentucky, they are teaching about rhyming in kindergarten in another state,” said Myrdin Thompson who is a 15th District PTA parent.Thompson will lead the Jefferson County project funded by a grant of up to $12,000 from the National PTA. The amount will be determined in September when they train, said Thompson.Now, 15th District PTA members will become the educators for parents and community members in Jefferson County.“We’re hoping that through these workshops and through connecting through their school environment and creating a stronger relationship they will feel more confident to ask key questions for those parent teacher conferences,” Thompson said.The group has already started workshops in the county and Lowe, St. Mathews and Middletown elementary schools have scheduled workshops in September, she said.“So our goal is to reach as many of the parents of the 100,000 students in this community as we can so that they can better partner with the school itself,” she said.More information will be presented to parents and community members at the annual Back to School Back to PTA event on Aug. 23.