Go Beyond Grades helps families team up with teachers at the end of the school year around summer learning and by connecting families to curated local programming. With ESSER federal dollars expiring soon, now is the time for families to take advantage of all the district and community resources.

Despite heroic efforts of educators through the pandemic, 90% of parents nationally believe their child is at/above grade level in reading and math even though the Nation’s Report Card and the EducationRecoveryScorecard.org data paint a much different reality. Eight in ten parents (80%) report their children get mostly B’s and above.¹ But there are other important factors beyond grades to know how a child is developing and achieving in school. Teachers say ongoing communication is the best way to know how a child is achieving, with only 30% saying report card grades are one of the most important ways.²

While grades matter, they don’t tell the whole story of a child. GoBeyondGrades.org supports families in looking beyond their children’s report card grades and partnering with teachers to understand how best to deepen their child’s learning and growth this summer. The website, in both English and Spanish, has tips and free tools to help parents and teachers connect at the end of the year to discuss student learning and well-being. It also helps families support their kids this summer to be ready for next year. GoBeyondGrades.org provides families the “A, B, C’s” to:

(A) Ask if their child is at grade level and team up with their child’s teacher on summer learning;

(B) Be in the know about how children learn and how they can team up with their teachers to support their children in an ongoing way;

(C) Connect with existing summer learning opportunities.

Through local partnerships and the website, Go Beyond Grades helps to raise awareness of the barriers to enrolling in summer learning – from parents’ perception of their children’s grade level achievement, to affordable childcare, to transportation, to awareness of programming – and reinforce the benefits of summer learning.