As a former teacher, school board chair, and state legislator, Kristen J. Amundson has spent decades answering parents' questions about school. 81 Questions for Parents: Helping Your Kids Succeed in School highlights the most important of these questions, covering a child's school journey from preschool to postsecondary education. It includes some of the school secrets parents need to know-the often unwritten rules that can make a child's K-12 experience the best it can be. Should you "redshirt" your kindergartener (and hold them out for a year)? How much parent help on homework is too much? And why could playing in the band be a secret to getting your child into a good college? And for parents who are struggling to teach their child at home, there are tips on how to do that while still keeping your sanity (and your own job). 81 Questions for Parents combines common sense, research, and a little humor to help parents support their child to get the best possible education.
Kristen J. Amundson is a former teacher, school board chair, state legislator, and CEO of a national education organization. She has spent decades answering parents' questions about school. She's a nationally recognized expert on parenting, education, and how parents can become advocates for their own child and for every child in the school system. Amundson is the author of Unfinished Learning: Parents, Schools, and the COVID School Closures.
Amundson taught in the classroom and spent nearly a decade on her local school board, but the time devoted to raising her daughter, Amundson writes, was "even more important than those professional qualifications." This book shares Amundson's years of experience, as well as advice gathered from parents of children of all ages attending public, private, and charter schools. Amundson also draws from teachers, school administrators, and education research to get the answers parents need to know, but which schools don't always disclose. She begins with the six "big questions all parents should ask," and addresses the current pandemic, during which the kitchen table became the classroom for many. She moves on to the elementary years, when parents decide when and where to send their children to kindergarten; the tumultuous middle school years, when children navigate new schools, new friendships, and the influence of technology; and the high school years and beyond. Amundson's questions and valuable collection of "unwritten rules" will help parents make a child's school experience as positive and successful as possible. * Booklist * For a parent looking for guidance this book is your assistant to helping your child succeed in school. [It's] loaded with important inquiries that were asked by other parents seeking advice. From elementary through high school, she writes about the pandemic and home schooling your children. * City Parent * While we all recognize parents as a child's first and best teacher, but they are also a child's most important advocate. Kris Amundson's new book arms parents all the right information to be an effective and powerful for their child's education. A must-read book for parents of school-aged children of all ages - from preschool through high school! Powerful tools to help navigate the waters of public education. -- Robert Hull, President and CEO, National Association of State Boards of Education Kris Amundson writes an enlightening and worthwhile guide for parents that aids them in navigating the educational questions we all face in making decisions for our children. She combines impressive research with her practical experience as a parent, lifelong educator, and policy maker. -- Eleanor B. Saslaw, educator; former president, Virginia Board of Education; former Chair, Virginia Community College System Board Kris Amundson has done-and seen-- it all. From her time as a teacher, a Mom, a school volunteer, local school board member, legislator and a national education leader, Kris knows how schools work in ways that are a mystery to most of us. And now, in 81 Questions for Parents, she shares that knowledge, helping families understand school so they can make the best school decisions for their kids and family. And while the book is chock full of research and resources, it reads like you are having coffee with your very smart, knowledgeable and sassy friend; giving you all the wisdom you need to figure out if your kid is ready for Kindergarten, or how to help your 3rd grader with fractions during remote learning, and more. This is a must-have parent manual for navigating through the school years! -- Sandy Boyd, CEO, Seek Common Ground
