Read this and it spoke to me as conferences approach.
Was thinking about asking my middle school staffers to give me thier top 3 suggestions for parents
at conferences and giving it out as a handout. Too much? Student led or traditional? Always data...
"THE WHOLE CHILD BLOG
ED Pulse Poll Results: 
Which Type of Parent Support for the Common Core Would Be Most Useful? 
November 5, 2013 

ASCD continually seeks to provide solutions to the challenges that face educators of all levels. Recently theASCD SmartBrief ED Pulse poll sought to develop a short list of useful tasks for parents to implement in their daily routine to enhance what is being taught in the classroom.

In response to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), many different groups have created documents for parents, education experts, and others that provide clear, consistent expectations for what students should be learning at each grade. Of the seven tasks suggested in the ED Pulse poll, there were three that resonated with the ASCD SmartBrief readers who took the survey. They felt that students could be best supported in their transition to CCSS if parents did the following:

--Demand "evidence" in everyday discussions/disagreements 24%

--Know what the priority work is for your child for the grade level 23%

--Read nonfiction texts aloud or with the child 20%
Also noted:

--Ask your child to do the math that comes up in your daily life 11%

--Provide more challenging texts your child wants to read comfortably 11 %

--Be aware of what your child struggled w/ last year & how that will affect learning this yr 9%"