The U.S. Census Bureau is here to help with easy-to-use resources for parents and caregivers.
Now is the perfect time to share these learning tools, since the 2020 Census is underway. It is more important than ever that everyone is counted. With schools closed over the last several weeks, we are reminded about the vital role school programs play in the lives of children. Funding decisions for key programs like free and reduced lunch, Title 1, and special education are informed by census data. Help us continue to get the message out about the importance of the census, with new tools that can also be used as part of distance learning.
Home and Distance Learning Activities page: The Statistics in Schools (SIS) website has a new page dedicated to at-home and distance learning. The page provides a variety of resources and materials — videos, fun facts, warmup activities, and more — for various grade levels that are easy to use at home. SIS resources help students bring census data to life and learn more about their community, state, and country. These materials will help parents and caregivers ensure that their children are engaged, learning, and having fun during this time. As appropriate, use this link to share the new page with educators and families in your state.
Response Rate Map: Students can stay up to date on how many people in their community have completed the census. Tell parents and caregivers they can use the response rate map with students at home to complete the following activities:
- Check the map each day for the latest completion rates for their state or community and create a chart or other graphic to track the increases.
- Track how their community’s response rate compares to the rates of other communities in the state, or compare their state to other states.
- Use social media to encourage friends and family to complete the 2020 Census. Students can motivate others by sharing the response rates map and using Census Bureau images created for social media. If students are too young to have their own social media accounts, you may want to specify that this should be done by an adult.
Participate online community: If educators in your state are interested in connecting with others using SIS resources in their at-home lessons, encourage them to join the SIS community on the Participate platform, our online community. This is an excellent way to get new ideas, resources, and personalized support from Statistics in Schools.
We are also developing a parent toolkit, which we will share in May when it’s ready. In the meantime, please let us know if there are other ways we can support you during this time.
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The parent and caregiver toolkits I mentioned in my previous email are now online and available for use! The Statistics in Schools (SIS) program developed these toolkits to provide instructions and tips on using and adapting SIS activities and resources for at-home use. There are four toolkits available:
Each toolkit contains everything needed to get started, including a teaching guide, a student worksheet, a list of materials, and an estimate of how long each lesson takes (lessons are between 5 and 20 minutes). Use this link to share the toolkits with parents and caregivers in your state.
Another new and exciting resource for young children is the VeggieTales: Everyone Counts! video. This video features the VeggieTales characters talking and singing about the importance of the 2020 Census—a fun way to engage children in making sure everyone is counted.
We hope these toolkits are useful in your work on behalf of the many students learning at home. Please let us know if there are any other ways we can support you.