NC Family Staff | November 16, 2023 | SHARE: 
If you are a parent, you likely dedicated a substantial amount of time in August getting your children ready for the first day of the new school year, including back-to-school shopping and figuring out the bus schedule—if your student rides the bus. But now that kids are back in school, what’s next? NC Family recently published a piece outlining the importance of parents connecting with their children about what they’re learning at school. Parents also need to stay engaged with the schools themselves and be aware of the environment, culture, and curricula their children are encountering.
But how do busy parents stay informed when there are so many different things to know? To help you with that, we have assembled a resource guide of sorts that can be used by parents to gain a firmer footing in many areas that may be of particular concern or interest.
This is a great general resource that comes from our friends at the Family Policy Alliance. Their ‘Back to School for Parents’ resource is a guide to help you stay involved in your child’s school, identify areas of concern, and know how to advocate for your child and their rights. In it, you’ll find:
Another general help comes from The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE). They suggest 15 actions parents can take to monitor, engage, and lead when it comes to potential indoctrination issues in school—not in a specific area, but in general. Karen England (a.k.a., The Kitchen Table Activist) provides a similarly concise list of general steps in her Back to School Checklist.
In this resource, our friends at Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) provide a wealth of information on the First Amendment religious protections for students, religious clubs, coaches, and teachers in schools, with the fourth and final part dedicated to students’ rights on college campuses.
This toolkit is designed to help parents by:
1. Explaining what parental rights are and how they can be defended;
Our counterparts at the Minnesota Family Council produced a widely-accessed and helpful booklet on the more practical side of this issue, called “Responding to the Transgender Issue: Parent Resource Guide.” It covers everything from common terminology, to explaining how transgenderism impacts schools, to helpful tips for parents to advocate on behalf of their children.
Because every family looks a bit different, the specific needs of parents and children are going to vary. While there is no perfect solution or right “cookie-cutter” approach, we do know that children with supportive parents are 81% more likely to graduate from high school. We encourage you to take a look at these resources and use what you need, but ultimately the best things you can do for your child are to love them and to build an open and trusting relationship with them.
Public schools can be a great resource, but they aren’t always the best fit for every child. If you are curious about alternative education options, we did a podcast series this summer discussing the broad range of options available in North Carolina.
