The Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education

Family-friendly Guides to Massachusetts Learning Standards

The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (Department), through our Center for Instructional Support, has partnered with the Massachusetts Parent-Teacher Association to develop family-friendly guides to three recently revised sets of learning standards: English language arts and literacy, mathematics, and science and technology/engineering. Revisions planned for summer 2019 will add content from the 2018 history and social science standards.

Available in English, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, and Chinese (simplified characters), the guides present the grade-level academic expectations in accessible, jargon-free terms. They also include conversation starters to help families and educators communicate and collaborate in supporting students' learning. The guides are featured in TNTP's Student Experience Toolkit and are posted on our website at Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks: For Parents/Guardians. We will provide a few samples in hard copy to the Board at the November 20 meeting.

In addition to the state's PTA and members of several of the Department's offices and working groups, a number of external advisers provided input on drafts of the guides, including:

• EdNavigator
• Stand for Children
• Federation for Children with Special Needs
• Collaborative Parent Leadership Action Network

I look forward to discussing these guides and other curriculum initiatives with the Board at a future meeting.