PARENT CENTER/PTO

PARENT CENTER INFORMATION

Each school has a “Parent Resource Center” in the library, or near the main office of their building. Free materials such as books, pamphlets, and magazines are available for parents and guardians. The Parent Facilitator at each school is committed to working with administrators, teachers, PTO, and parents to ensure that parental participation is recognized as an asset. They will work to increase communication and promote a welcoming atmosphere that fosters parental involvement.

If you have any questions, need more information, or want to know how you can become involved, please contact your school’s parent facilitator by phone or email.

EDUCATIONAL LINKS:

Arkansas Department of Education
Parents and educators in Arkansas will find lots of good information about Arkansas schools. The site lists information on education frameworks, benchmarks, school standards, school choice as well as information about programs such as Smart Start, Next Step and No Child Left Behind. Parents can view test scores from recent Benchmark exams under the Testing section.

Great Schools.net (See How Your Child's School Rates!!!!)

This web link features information about School Report Cards, as well as information about public, private, and charter schools in Arkansas, (although parents in other states can access information for their state as well through here). Parents can get profiles of schools in their area based on Benchmark Exams and compare them against other schools. There are also tips on a variety of school-related issues (tips on math and reading, college prep, learning disabilities, etc.) that parents can access. Lots of great information!

School Matters
SchoolMatters is designed to empower parents, educators and policymakers with tools they need to make better-informed decisions that improve student performance. In addition to national information about public information in the U.S., searches can be done by individual state to view performance, spending and demographic information. Check to see how your child's school measures up!

U.S. Department of Education Publications
The Department of Education's mission and goals are provided in this site. There is a section specifically for parents, which contains information on No Child Left Behind, parent involvement, and school performance. A wealth of information for parents!

Reading is Fundamental
Reading is Fundamental (RIF) is the nation's largest child literacy organization. Parents can find tips and activity ideas for different age groups on this site to help motivate their children to read. Resources are also available in Spanish.

Get Ready to Read!
Get Ready to Read (GRTR)! Is a national initiative to build the early literacy skills of preschool students Parents use the tools and strategies found here to help prepare children to read and write.

College Atlas
Search Online for Colleges and Universities throughout the World!

FAMILY LINKS:

Family Education
A website for parents dedicated to children's learning. Parents can find topics for all ages on school and general parenting issues. Weekly on-line newsletters are also available through this site.

Parent Academic Resources Incorporated
This website works to overcome the common view held by parents with children in middle school and high school which is: "When I don’t know how to teach chemistry, literature, and algebra, I can't help my child with schoolwork".

10 Tips for Parents Who Choose to Stay Put
This easy to read, four page guide is targeted for parents who choose to have their child to stay in his or her current school rather than transfer to a new one. This is developed by the Center for Parent Leadership.

12 Things Parents Should Expect From Their Schools & Themselves
This guide for parents, created by the Center for Parent Leadership, highlights some basic information about school-parent involvement.

Family-Schools.Org (Monthly Spotlight)
This site spotlights articles each month related to parental involvement. Contains resources for parents and educators on how the school can function as a community rather than in a community.

GENERAL PARENTING LINKS:

Arkansas Families
The Arkansas Families website helps you to put knowledge to work to improve your life. This involves topics that deal money, eating well and staying healthy, raising caring and responsible children, strong families and safe communities.

IVillage Parenting
This web site contains LOTS of great parenting tips from parent educators, as well as other parents. The Ages and Stages section features articles for parents of children from birth to teens. There is also a message board for parents to interact with other parents.

Kid Source
Divided into categories (newborns, toddlers, preschoolers, and school-aged), this site offers a variety of articles, products and services related to each specific age category, as well as links to other sites. Articles which are grouped by health, education, recreation, and parenting, use a five-star rating system. Very good information!

Parenting.org
Girls and Boys Town sponsors this web site which contains tips to help parents of children in every grade adjust to school and how to get the most out of their day in the classroom.

Family Education
This site contains general parenting information, as well as, educational topics and activities for parents. Sections are divided into different age groups. Additionally, the site features a family entertainment section where parents can view games and activities to enjoy with their children.

Parent's Resource Center
Parents can find fun activities to do with their children on this web site. Activities are available for multiple age groups. This site also lists recipes, links to kid-related sites, and parenting tips for various ages and stages of development. In addition, the site also features a missing children segment which displays photos of missing children.

The National Parenting Center
Parenting authorities (doctors, psychologists, and parenting experts/authors) offer advice for parents. The articles are based on age-specific groups, which offer a variety of advice for children in each stage of development.

National Institute on Media and the Family
Research your family's media viewing habits! Of most interest to families are the rating system called KidScore, which rates TV shows, movies, video and computer games from a family oriented perspective. There are also resources and hot topics to review also.

Colorado Parent Information and Resource Center
The Colorado Parent Information and Resource Center, which is funded by the Department of Education, produces this web page. While most sections of this site are of interest to the parent educator, this page does contain a section for parents under Resources. Additionally, information on No Child Left Behind can also be found on this site.

Children, Youth and Family Consortium
The Children, Youth and Family Consortium's web site is a bridge to a wide range of information and resources about children and families. It connects research, teaching, policy, and community practice. Parents can benefit from information found in each age-appropriate category.

Parent News
Parenting articles, news, advice and tips on a variety of topics can be found on this site!

Parenting Press
Although mostly a commercial site for ordering books, this site does contain some parenting tips from the various books it features, which cover a variety of topics.

SPECIAL NEEDS CHILDREN LINKS:

Family Village
Parents of children with disabilities can utilize this web site to access resources for disability related topics. Great source for parents of special needs children!

Learning Disability Online
This web site is for parent, teachers and children with learning disabilities and/or ADHD. The site is divided into three sections containing information on learning disabilities, resources, newsletter, etc.

The National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities
This site contains information on children and youth with disabilities. Parents can communicate in both English and Spanish. There are A-Z topics on web resources, as well as a section on state resources.

MOTHER SPECIFIC LINKS:

Working Mother
This site is designed for mothers who work outside the home. It also offers articles of interest to working mothers, as well as strategies, questions and answers, and personal stories and links.

FATHER SPECIFIC LINKS:

Fathers.com
Fathers.com is the premier online resource for every day dads. Created by the National Center for Fathering, fathers.com provides research-based training, practical tips and resources to help men be the involved fathers, grandfathers, and father figures their children need. Also contains information on Urban Dads and Watch DOGS.

National Fathers' Network
This site targets fathers of children with special health care needs and developmental disabilities. The site features articles, links, information about medical needs, bulletin boards, and a segment in Spanish.

SINGLE PARENT LINKS:

Parents Without Partners
This is the official site for the Parents Without Partners program. The site directs parents to their local chapter of the program, as well as provides a newsletter, news and events, resources on the net for single parents, and a chat room for members.

MEDICAL INFORMATION LINKS:

Mayo Clinic
The website of the Mayo Clinic contains information about children's health issues, pregnancy, and family life, all under the "Healthy Living Center" section. Lots of good articles on a variety of topics!

KidsHealth.org
This site is divided into sections for parents, kids and teens. It is sponsored by the Nemours Foundation. It has an easy search option to access the entire web site database for information on a specific subject.

Healthfinder
This site is a consumer-related gateway to health and human services information from the U.S. government. The search engine links the consumer to resources on a particular subject, offers links to the latest health news, events and press releases, and provides links to online journal publications. Also supplies links to toll free numbers, self-help and support group information.

A School Nurse's Guide to Kids' Health and Safety
This site provides comprehensive health and wellness resources. It covers information from common childhood illnesses and nutrition to concussion and exercise.

HOMELESS LINK:

HUD Homeless Information

This site provides a shelter directory, resources, and services for the homeless.

Oak Grove Middle School

OAK GROVE MIDDLE SCHOOL

ABOUT US

LOCATION

LESSON PLANS