Local PTA Group Begins Training on Common Core Standards

A local PTA group is training to educate parents in Jefferson County about the Common Core State Standards.President of the 15^th District PTA Cheri Dimar said she didn’t have time to relax on the beach in Florida this past weekend because her group of six were busy training with the National PTA on how to educate parents in Jefferson County on the newly adopted common core standards. The National PTA will help monitor progress but it'll be up to the individual recipients to see that their goals are met.“They just help us set goals and be sure we have the materials and things we need to actually get the information out to the parents in the community,” said Dimar.The Common Core State Standards unify what students learn in math and English and have been adopted by 46 U.S. states and territories. The 15^th District PTA is one of six National PTA grant recipients. The training helps identify the role parents should play, as many states begin to implement the new standards this year.“The parents and then the teachers too can do activities that will involve things like measuring when you’re baking or if you’re at the store using fractions when you’re buying something--just real life experiences that help the students actually be able to apply them and hopefully carry over and pass the test next week,” said Dimar.The 15th District PTA is part of the third wave of nation-wide recipients to be involved in the program with National PTA and Dimar said past recipients were on hand in Florida to talk about what’s worked and what hasn’t.The 15th District PTA will be training several parents and community members beginning this week, she said. A regional specialist will continue to visit Jefferson County each month through October 2012 and the group will also meet monthly to discuss how to meet its goals.