Parents in the Oklahoma City Schools face similar challenge to parents around the nation. Preparing children for high stakes testing, trying to balance home and work, and preparing students for independence in a global economy are not small tasks for parents or teachers. What the children of Oklahoma City Schools have in their favor is a local community that is unusually supportive of public education. In 2001 residents voted in an historic bond initiate that used future taxes to provide new and renovated school buildings for all Oklahoma City Schools. Such a wide margin of public support is sadly unusual.
But give the community involvement the parents of Oklahoma City Public Schools really seem interested in what they can do to give their own children, and local schools, the best chance possible. As a former teacher and parent of school-age learners, heres my advice on the three critical steps parents can take for their childrens success.
Read Together
Reading is the single most important skill for students in the Oklahoma City Schools. Until the third grade your child is learning how to read. But after that, he or she will be reading to learn. In essence,...