Q: We recently moved to Tennessee and got our kids into a good public school. The principal holds meetings on the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and the tests children will take next year. Parents are afraid kids will do poorly. Some are considering switching to private schools so their children won't be stressed by the new curriculum and tests. How hard will they be?

A: That's not the right question. A better one is, "How can I help my children master CCSS material in elementary, middle and high school, so they can do well in college and prepare for a rewarding career?"

Last fall, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan made headlines when he said that opposition to the Common Core and related tests comes primarily from "white suburban moms" worrying about their kids' poor performance on the new exams.

"All of a sudden, their child isn't as brilliant as they thought they were and their school isn't quite as good as they thought they were, and that's pretty scary," he said.

Duncan may have chosen his words poorly, but "the evidence is all around us that many children, including those in the middle class, are not acquiring the skills they need to succeed in higher education and later obtain a living-wage job," says Bill Jackson, president of GreatSchools (greatschools.org), an organization that helps parents support their child's learning.

"So while the results of the new tests might be disconcerting, they will tell the truth to parents, students and teachers, so they know whether children are really on track," he adds.

"The United States has fallen from first to 10th in the number of students who graduate high school, and ranks 12th in the number of 24- to 36-year-olds with a college degree," Jackson notes. "The United States ranks 25th out of 34 top-performing countries in math, and 17th in science, two subjects important to most high-paying jobs. Nearly 3.5 million jobs in the United States go unfilled each year because there are not enough qualified candidates to fill them."

The CCSS -- crafted by thousands of parents, teachers, researchers, subject-area specialists, business, civic and policy leaders across the political spectrum -- should appeal to "anyone who thinks our kids might learn more than they've been learning and that the bar on our education expectations should be raised," says Chester E. Finn Jr., president of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based education think tank.

There are two main assessment programs to help states monitor student progress on CCSS.

Tennessee is part of an 18-state consortium, the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC), which is developing a common set of K-12 assessments in English and math. PARCC assessments are being field-tested now and will be ready for the 2014-15 school year.

PARCC encourages parents and students to try the sample test items across all grades and to provide feedback. The sample items will not be scored. They are available at www.parcconline.org/computer-based-samples.

While a few states may create their own assessments, most others adopting the CCSS will use tests created by the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium. These will be field-tested from March 18 to June 6. For more information, go to www.smarterbalanced.org.

(Do you have a question about your child's education? Email it to Leanna@aplusadvice.com. Leanna Landsmann is an education writer who began her career as a classroom teacher. She has served on education commissions, visited classrooms in 49 states to observe best practices, and founded Principal for a Day in New York City.)

Q: A January TV segment on National Mentoring Month got me thinking: I'd like to mentor young people. So many teens don't seem to know how to set and achieve goals. I don't have "social worker" skills, but I've started businesses and know how to help people develop their talents. Are there programs where I can make a positive contribution?

A: You bet. Many national and local organizations will welcome your experience and skills. Your local high schools may partner with these groups because of the benefits to students.

"Teens tell us that adult role models are important," says Stephen Wallace, director of the Center for Adolescent Research and Education (CARE) at Susquehanna University in Selinsgrove, Pa. "Studies clearly show that mentors can inspire a teen's educational achievement, shape careers, influence social and emotional well-being, and promote health and safety.

"Mentoring can improve relationships with parents and peers, reduce initiation of drug and alcohol use, and decrease incidents of youth violence," he adds. "The Search Institute finds that young people need at least three nonparent adult mentors in their lives to reach their full potential."

Before you jump in, ask yourself two questions, Wallace suggests.

One, how much time can you commit? "Effective mentoring requires getting to know your mentee and developing trust," says Wallace. "Good mentoring relationships often take a year to evolve."

If you don't have a lot of time, you can still support a youth mentoring organization through special events, strategic advice or fundraising.

Two, are you more effective as an informal or a formal mentor? "A formal mentor is part of an established program and abides by its guidelines," says Wallace. "Informal mentoring often evolves from friendships or situations where an adult sees an opportunity to help."

For example, high school guidance counselors often call on committed volunteers to informally coach first-generation college applicants through the complicated college search and applications process.

Others join formal mentoring programs, such as training to coach for Girls Inc. or for One Million Degrees, a Chicago organization that guides low-income, highly motivated community college students.

Chip Block, a retired Florida entrepreneur, has been both types. He is currently a formal mentor for Young Entrepreneurs Academy (yeausa.org). "Most programs have a structure," he says. "You have to decide if you can be effective within it."

There are many excellent programs looking for qualified adults with good sense and a good heart to volunteer, says Wallace.

They range from Oregon's ASPIRE (Access to Student Assistance Programs In Reach of Everyone), a program that matches adult mentors with students to develop their education goals beyond high school, to the Million Women Mentors (MWM) initiative, whose goal is to engage one million science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) mentors -- male and female -- to increase the interest of girls and young women in pursuing STEM degrees.

To find a mentoring program that's right for you, do a local search of school, college, community, business, service and faith-based organizations. Talk to volunteers involved with the programs to see if their roles appeal to you. For more information, go to serve.gov and mentoring.org.

(Do you have a question about your child's education? Email it to Leanna@aplusadvice.com. Leanna Landsmann is an education writer who began her career as a classroom teacher. She has served on education commissions, visited classrooms in 49 states to observe best practices, and founded Principal for a Day in New York City.)

Q: Our district cut arts programs during the recession. A parent group wants to get them restored. Our parent-teacher organization will pay for a teacher's salary, but the principal says that the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) teacher training is a higher priority. How can we make the case? Arts can put joy in learning for many kids.

A: Integrating the arts into instruction can put the joy back in teaching, too. The arts and the CCSS are not mutually exclusive.

David Coleman, architect of the CCSS and president of education nonprofit the College Board, says, "The great news is that the (Common Core) standards call on so many things the arts do well. The tradition of careful observation, attention to evidence and artists' choices, the love of taking an artist's work seriously lies at the heart of these standards."

Many educators are delighted that schools are incorporating arts into CCSS training. For example, arts integration specialist Susan Riley shows teachers how to change STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) instruction to STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Math) through workshops and CCSS-aligned projects at educationcloset.com.

While it's wonderful that the PTO is stepping up, "The best way to get the arts back is to be proactive, strategic and build a constituency willing to spend the financial and political capital to keep an arts program alive over time," says Nancy Roucher, a Florida art educator who helped build the volunteer Sarasota Community/Schools Partnership for the Arts. Created in 1996, the alliance is now a national model.

To bring the arts back to stay, Roucher suggests:

-- Research ways the arts benefit students, such as developing cognitive skills that lead to mastery of other core subjects. The Arts Education Partnership is a good place to start (aep-arts.org).

-- Share that research in plain language with parents, policymakers, curriculum specialists, business and civic leaders. Discuss why arts skills are important to your community and workforce. Interview professionals who use the arts in their careers.

-- Choose a small, dedicated advisory group to take your plan forward.

-- Meet with curriculum experts to discuss what you want children to know and be able to do in the arts upon graduation, and show how these goals correlate to the CCSS.

-- Build momentum with a communications campaign. "We used everything from slides in movie theaters, to kids' posters in stores, arts teachers talking to civic groups, and an administrator who spoke about how learning the violin was as important for him as playing on the football team," says Roucher. Make social media a key component.

-- Don't rest on your laurels. "You have new boards and constituencies to convince each year," says Roucher. "Take a cue from the athletic department. Generate excitement by giving awards and showcasing student talent. Maintain your focus to retain your hard-won gains."

-- Include arts in afterschool and summer programs. Encourage parents to enjoy arts-related activities with children. Promote visits to museums, theaters, libraries, galleries and art performances. When buying for kids, consider gifts such as art supplies as well as play, dance or concert tickets.

(Do you have a question about your child's education? Email it to Leanna@aplusadvice.com. Leanna Landsmann is an education writer who began her career as a classroom teacher. She has served on education commissions, visited classrooms in 49 states to observe best practices, and founded Principal for a Day in New York City.)