Common Core State Standards:

1. Common Core State Standards: What families and communities Need to knowabout New Learning Standards School’s Out Washington and Ready Washington June 21, 2014

2. Expecting the Best School’s Out Washington provides services and guidance for community organizations to ensure that all students have a safe place to learn and grow when not in school. Ready Washington is a coalition of state and local education agencies, associations and advocacy organizations that support preparing all students for career, college and life.

3. Agenda • What is Common Core? • Why Common Core? • Group activity: Family communications • What is different? • Survey: About what you learned today • Questions and Answers

4. What is Common Core?

5. What is Common Core? The Common Core State Standards: • Set learning expectations for all students. • Standards in math and English language arts (math, reading & writing). • Provide teachers with tools to help students learn.

6. WhyCommon Core?

7. Why Common Core? Currently in Washington State: Employers report graduating students are not prepared enough for jobs. Less than half of our high school graduates are ready for 2-year or 4-year college. Nearly half graduates entering community college and must take remedial courses.

8. Why Common Core? • By 2018, 2 out of 3 jobs in WA will require technical training or a college degree. • Diverse students and families are greatly impacted by not being prepared for employment, technical school or college.

9. Group Activity Family and Community Engagement • Barriers: What do you see as barriers to communicating Common Core to families? (5 min.) • Worksheets: Write down your answers in English or Spanish.

10. Common Core: What’s Different?

11. Common Core: What’s Different? 1. Consistent learning expectations for all students. 2. Big change in the way students learn. 3. Clear standards that focus on deeper understanding. 4. Studentslearn skills they will need in a job. 5. New exams/tests will be given in 2015.

12. What’s Different? 1. Consistent learning expectations Before Common Core, all 50 states had different learning expectations for students. Common Core provides consistent learning standards and expectations for all students, no matter where they live.

13. What’s Different? 2. Big change in the way students learn Students gain knowledge in academic areas. Also gain skills in ways to think, to manage self and to transition to college and career opportunities. Skills like: critical thinking, problem-solving, persistence, and working together

14. What’s Different? 3. Clear standards focus on deeper understanding Goes into fewer topics and focuses on deepening students’ understanding of concepts They allowstudents to apply the skills they learned to real-life situations. More opportunities for hands-on and experiential learning

15. What’s Different? 4. Critical skills for the job market Common Core focuses on building real-world skills in learning. Prepares students with the knowledge and skills they need to succeed in education, training and work after high school.

16. What’s Different? 5. New testing in 2015 Different testto support Common Core – Smarter Balanced. Technology-based test

17. What’s Different? Becausea different test and different bar: Test scores will be initially lower, compared to previous state exams scores. Research shows students work hard to meet raised learning expectations. There is shared understanding that raising learning standards is important for our students’ futures.

18. SURVEY Please fill out the survey about what you learned today.

19. Questions/Answers

20. Thank You! Questions, Comments, Suggestions? Support for Real Learning for Real Life campaign is brought to you in part by College Spark Washington