This is a tool in a standards "curriculum" for parents that can help educators engage parents around standards and enrich the traditional Back-to-School night. It introduces the basics of what standards are and why they are important and brings parents into the conversation about high academic standards and student work.

It also encourages teachers to use their time with parents not simply to describe grading guidelines, behavioral expectations and the syllabus, but to talk about how standards will work in their classrooms.

The activities here generally follow a traditional Back-to-School Night format. Parents are gathered for a 20-minute overview of the evening, where they hear a general presentation from the principal and teachers about their vision for their school and particularly the importance of standards. After this introduction, parents then follow their child's schedule, moving from class to class every 12 minutes or so. With an eight-period schedule, it should take parents a little more than 2.0 hours to get through their child’s classes. You can expect about 2.5 hours for the entire evening.