I hope all are enjoying the beautiful weather. I thoroughly enjoyed reading your children’s report cards and I am proud of all the smart work they have completed. Evidence of this work is displayed throughout our hallways. Over the last several years, Paramus has significantly updated several curricular areas. Many parents have noticed a curricular shift, particularly if they have older children who previously attended Parkway. These changes are a direct result of New Jersey adopting the Common Core State Standards.

According to http://www.corestandards.org, The Common Core State Standards Initiative is a state-led effort to establish a shared set of clear educational standards for English language arts and mathematics that states can voluntarily adopt. The standards have been informed by the best available evidence and the highest state standards across the country and globe and designed by a diverse group of teachers, experts, parents, and school administrators, so they reflect both our aspirations for our children and the realities of the classroom. These standards are designed to ensure that students graduating from high school are prepared to go to college or enter the workforce and that parents, teachers, and students have a clear understanding of what is expected of them. The standards are benchmarked to international standards to guarantee that our students are competitive in the emerging global marketplace.

The National PTA website has wonderful information on the Common Core Standards. Please visit my webpage to read the documents.

Have a great month! Suzanne Barbi

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Parkway Elementary School     ♦     145 E. Ridgewood Avenue, Paramus, NJ 07652     ♦     201-261-7800 x8512