About Public Schools

Did you know that your child’s public school may be the best source of after-school daycare? Whether parents need a little after-school support due to work or personal obligations, many public schools may provide much-needed support.

With rising parents needing childcare assistance, many public schools have introduced after-school programs, child-sitting, and additional activities. For parents needing a few extra hours of child care after school or seeking support during school breaks and holidays, children can enjoy supervised activities and attention at an array of public school childcare venues!

After School Child Care

Depending on a child’s school policies and programs, most public schools offer free or reduced-cost childcare services. For example, Charlotte Public Schools, located in Michigan, supports parents before and after school. According to the county, children ranging from 6 weeks to 12 years of age can receive childcare services Monday through Friday from 6:30 am to 6 pm. While costs of the child care range depending on the child’s age, the time of day, and the duration of service, Charlotte offers support that ranges from $7 to $40 per day.

In addition to Charlotte Public Schools, Fairfax County Schools, located in Virginia, provide parents with after-school support for kids. Unlike Charlotte schools, however, Fairfax allows parents to receive child care support with a sliding fee scale. Essentially, each parent/family is provided with a unique and specialized price option based on the family’s gross household income. This helps parents of all economic

Research in autism has exploded in recent years as experts strive to find clues as to this spectrum disorder's causes, symptoms, and conditions. While the symptoms and classifications of autism are broad, autism manifests itself as a Pervasive Developmental Disorder, which falls into the category of neurological impairment.

According to the Autism Society of America (ASA), autism impacts an individual’s social and communication abilities. “Both children and adults with autism typically show difficulties in verbal and non-verbal communication, social interactions, and leisure or play activities.” As scientists and researchers continually discover more information about this condition, more children and adults are diagnosed with autism.

Startlingly, as ASA reveals, autism is currently the most common developmental disorder, impacting 1 out of every 150 children. With this data, an estimated 1.5 million Americans are currently coping with some form of autism spectrum disorder. This number continues to rise at approximately 10 to 17 percent each year. Experts suspect that approximately 4 million Americans will cope with autism within the next 10 years. With this rising number, schools are rapidly striving to implement programs, resources, and support tools for families and children dealing with autism. To help provide autistic children with added support, parents can utilize five core tips to improve their child’s progress and development in public schools.

This video looks at autistic children in school settings.

Find Out About Available Programs

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Educators and public school leaders are always experimenting with new ways to improve classroom instruction and student learning. One of the latest trends involves new plans to educate students in single-sex classrooms.

While combined gender education has been, and continues to be, the strongest and most popular trend in public school classrooms, some educational experts assert that single-sex classrooms can boost student learning, performance, and behavior. In fact, studies proving the benefits of single-sex classrooms have been so positive that the Department of Education overturned its ban on single-gender classrooms, creating new legislation allowing public schools to implement single gender instruction once again. This new legislation was groundbreaking, as single-sex instruction has been prohibited in public schools since 1975.

With the new education legislation, school leaders are experimenting with new classroom designs to find out if a single-sex instruction can help save failing and struggling public schools and students. Currently, about 500 public schools are trying out new single-sex instructional models with the hopes that students will be able to focus and engage more effectively when separated from their opposite gender.

The Benefits of Single-Sex Classrooms

Single-sex classrooms, historically more popular in private schools, are essentially classrooms designed to teach all boys and all girls in separate settings. According to research, the cognitive, behavioral, and social development of the two genders is so different and unique that separating the genders allows for more

While many parents may believe that Dyslexia relates to an individual’s struggle with reading, the issue of Dyslexia can impact a child’s full development. Dyslexia symptoms include confusion with letters, numbers, reading, math, writing, and other difficulties – all of which can hinder a child’s academic progress.

Children coping with Dyslexia can face an array of adversities if their struggles are ignored. As studies demonstrate, students with Dyslexia who do not receive proper support may experience a decrease in self-esteem and a decline in positive behavior.

Thankfully, educators are finding new and innovative ways to help Dyslexic students learn at an optimal pace and level, and a rising number of schools are implementing targeted programs for support.

Dyslexia: The Signs and Struggles

Children coping with Dyslexia may reveal a wide variety of symptoms. For example, as Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal explains, children who struggle with Dyslexia often fail to fully comprehend both written material and numbers – leading to difficulties with other assignments. When these children struggle with academic tasks, they may begin to demonstrate signs of frustration, anger, or even depression.

According to the Mayo Clinic, other symptoms of Dyslexia may include the following:

• Your child may start speaking later than other kids his age.
• Your child adds new words very slowly to her vocabulary.
• Rhyming may be difficult for your child.
• Your child may have an inability to identify and recognize printed letters and words.
• Your child’s reading ability is below the standard level expected for

Many parents of talented and gifted kids, also known as TAG students, struggle with giving their children the appropriate levels of academic challenge and support. While public schools are striving to create greater TAG programs and courses, many parents are seeking out enrichment opportunities to supplement their child’s public school experience.

Parents looking for additional educational opportunities for TAG kids in public schools can take advantage of an array of community organizations, private institutions, events, and programs.

How Parents Can Support their TAG Child

As many TAG children may exhibit a greater desire for academic challenges and new opportunities, experts assert that parents should strive to balance a child’s academic activities with social ones. The balance will ensure that each student develops not only mentally, but personally and socially as well.

According to the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Educational Research and Improvement, most gifted kids generally benefit from spending time in settings amidst peers of similar abilities. Subsequently, many TAG children can benefit from skipping grades or engaging in accelerated classes. If TAG children stay in regular classrooms, they may need alternative opportunities to enhance their overall development.

TAG children require both mental stimulation and access to cognitively equal peer experiences. Therefore, parents, in addition to taking action with a child’s school, can also expose their child to alternative support opportunities as well.

This video from Raising Children's Network offers suggestions for supporting your talented and gifted child.