These resources were developed by the Oregon PIRC or our parent organization, Education Northwest, to help parents and families with a number of educational and child development issues.

Parents in Oregon can order hard copies of several of the items on this page (look for the "order a copy" links), although availability of some items is limited.

Parent Pages Newsletters

Parent Pages provide information about the education law known as No Child Left Behind and explain how it affects parents and their children. Parent Pages also include information on such topics as playing games with kids for fun and learning, helping with homework, and much more. These recently revised editions also include a Spanish translation on the back!

• Building a Strong Parent-Teacher Relationship Can Start With You (Vol. I, Issue 4)
• Online Learning Opportunities (Vol. I, Issue 3)
• Combating Summer Learning Loss (Vol. I, Issue 2)
• Introducing Oregon's PIRC (Vol. I, Issue 1)

Guidebooks for Parents

Easy Ways for Families to Help Children Learn: Activities and Suggestions for Families to Enhance Learning for Children Grades K-6

Author(s): Davis, Deborah & Pottmeyer, Sharon (Ed.), 1998
This booklet was created for families to help their children do their best in school; take pleasure from reading, writing, and mathematics; and enjoy a richer, fuller life. It contains practical suggestions for activities and games you can play that enhance learning. These activities are designed for the extra minutes you have riding in a car or on a bus, when working around our home, or when shopping for groceries.
Download this resource (PDF format); Order a print copy

Tips for Parents About Reading: Information and Ideas for Helping Children Through Grade Eight Succeed with Reading

Author(s): Davis, Deborah & Lewis, Jan Patricia, 1997
This publication offers practical ideas parents can use with children from birth through middle school to encourage and support reading proficiency. It also provides guidelines about what children typically can do at certain ages/stages of reading development and lists titles of kids' favorite books.
Download this resource (PDF format); Order a print copy

Parent Resources from the U.S. Dept. of Education

Empowering Parents School Box

• Download the School Box Booklets
• Order a copy for yourself (or a set of them to distribute at your next parent event)

This toolkit provides several short booklets that can assist parents in a number of educational areas:

• Learning Checklist Booklet: This 28-page booklet gives parents ideas about how to help their child learn as he or she navigates through school. The learning checklists start with when kids are in Preschool and contain information for all stages (elementary, middle, and high school). It even provides some information about how to help your child on to college.

• Taking a Closer Look Booklet: This 24-page booklet contains detailed information about topics related to educational opportunities offered to parents and students, including parental involvement, school choice, tutoring, and financial aid for college. This booklet provides stories to illustrate each topic and supplies a note section for parents to write their own thoughts and questions about each topic.

• What Parents Need to Know Booklet: This 8-page booklet presents information about current education law and how it benefits parents and their children. It provides short descriptions of local report cards, high-quality teachers, Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP), etc.

• Other resources in the school box include a brochure containing a list of resources for parents, a poster, bookmark, and door hanger.