8704 Yates Dr., Suite 205

Westminster, CO 80031

rmfc.org

303-292-1800

Monitoring Curriculum

Many times we parents are unprepared to get involved in our children's education. We are intimidated by a large school system and professional educators that have years of training and experience with teaching children. First, parents must get the facts to effectively monitor curriculum. When our children come home with stories that concern us about what happened in their class we should first verify the story with other parents that have students in the same class. You will lose credibility with educators and waste their time if you do not have all the facts.

Second, get to know your child's teacher. Open houses and parent conferences offer excellent opportunities for you to check out what your child is learning. Be friendly and ask for the teacher's viewpoint about curriculum. Establish a good relationship and show that you support the teacher's efforts to educate you child.

Third, contact the district curriculum director. Many times curriculum selection is out of the hands of an individual teacher. The district's curriculum director might be able to answer any questions you have about a particular curriculum, as well as let you examine copies of the curriculum material. Call the school district to find out who the curriculum director is.

How many of you know the process in which your child's school district selects curriculum? Many times curriculum selection is a lengthy and complicated process that takes place over years of evaluation. To be an effective voice in this process, you must first learn how it works and get involved in the earliest stages. Once a text is adopted by a school or district, it will usually take much more effort to get it removed. Districts have already invested thousands, and in some cases, hundreds of thousands of dollars, on the curriculum, and will have a difficult time accounting for the additional monetary waste should they decide to alter their curriculum. The local elected school board, however, has the legal duty and authority to determine a curriculum for public schools that avoids offensive content and transmits to students moral standards and community values. Each school district process is somewhat different in selecting curriculum. Call the central office of your district and ask about the appropriate ways to gain information about curriculum selection and policy.

Before you actually try to change a curriculum, assess your situation. What needs are your child's teacher and the school board trying to fill? What positive alternatives can you offer? Many times parents object to a curriculum, but offer no alternative to the school. It is vital that every attempt is made to provide acceptable curriculum options to the school or, as the cliché goes, "we become part of the problem instead of the solution." Put your objections in writing and keep to the few objections to the curriculum that really concern you. Don't get off on tangents, or others will merely think that you are negative. In fact, find some good in the curriculum and praise those who selected the curriculum whenever possible. Positive people are more often heard and their opinions respected. Put yourself in the teachers' and school board's position when you communicate with them. They institute curriculum to meet their perceived needs of the students. And they usually want to be respondent to the needs and desires of their community. Help them meet those needs in the best way you can. Make them look good when you can.

Do you know the law? Many times parents are ignorant of just how much influence they are legally entitled to as parents and taxpayers. For example: did you know that schools are forbidden to subject students to psychological examination or treatment, to require students to reveal political affiliations, sexual behavior attitudes, or ask students for critical appraisals of behavior and attitudes of family members without prior written consent of the parent? Many state laws also protect parental rights and require parental consent for specific classroom curriculum. And of course, the religious rights of your children are protected within the state school system. Recently, a parent called the Rocky Mountain Family Council and told of how her second grade daughter had a Bible ripped from her hands by a very misinformed principal. Our legal advisory board informed the principal and his district of the right of that little girl to have her Bible in school. Although she now is able to take her Bible to school again, the trauma that the girl went through cannot be rectified. Know the law and your rights as Christians.

Many times, parents only get involved in their child's education when they find something wrong about the way teachers are teaching. Teachers don't find much support when they are actually doing a good job. Like everyone, teachers need affirmation and encouragement and prayer.

One organization that emphasizes and encourages prayer for students and teachers is Moms In Touch. The purpose of Moms In Touch is to intercede for our children through prayer and to pray that our schools may be guided by biblical values and high moral standards. Their desire is for God to raise up Moms to intercede for every school in Colorado, Wyoming and across the U.S. If you would like to receive information on Moms In Touch contact us at Rocky Mountain Family Council. Getting involved in our children's education means getting involved over the long-haul. It means starting and keeping relationships with those who affect the lives of your children on a daily basis. It means being there for the teachers and covering your children and their teachers with prayer.

Rocky Mountain Family Council

8704 Yates Drive, Suite 205

Westminster, CO 80031

(303) 292-1800

This resource may be reprinted without change and in its entirely for non-commercial purposes

without prior permission from the Rocky Mountain Family Council.