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Welcome! Brought to you by Leading Educational Attainment (LEA) for Families, the 10 Education Essentials for Families equips parents, guardians, and family members to be the best advocates for their children’s education and future.

Since 2004, this program, formerly known as the 10 Education Commandments for Families, has unified the business and education communities to boost the academic performance of our young people, and in doing so, produce a highly skilled workforce for Orange County.

This course is for parents, guardians, and family members who want to understand the California education system so they are better prepared to support their child through school. It is divided into ten sections (called “modules”) below. We recommend that you review all 10 Education Essentials, but if you have limited time, you can start with the information that is most relevant to your child based on their grade level.

This course was designed to support your learning, so please explore!

Not sure where to begin?

Take our 5-minute Self-Assessment to help you decide which of the 10 Essentials will be most helpful for you to learn about.

Take Self-Assessment

What questions do you have?

Essential 1 - What can my family do to get involved in my child’s education?

Essential 2 - How can my family support my child's studies at home?

Essential 3 - How can I keep track of my child’s progress?

Essential 4 - How are schools structured?

Essential 5 - What does my child need to graduate from high school?

Essential 6 - What are some of the subjects my child will be learning?

Essential 7 - How can my child add more challenging classes?

Essential 8 - What does being college and career ready mean?

Essential 9 - How can I help my child afford college?

Essential 10 - What mindset should my child have for success?

Why take this course?

Research shows that people with college degrees have more job choices, greater job security and higher salaries. Career and Technical Education (CTE) can provide hands-on training that translates directly to attractive careers after graduation. Family members play an important role in helping young people plan for their futures.

Disclaimer: This Internet site contains hypertext links to information created and maintained by other public and private organizations. These links are provided for your convenience. The Orange County Department of Education does not control or guarantee the accuracy, relevance, timeliness or completeness of this outside information. Further, the inclusion of links to particular items in hypertext are not intended to reflect their importance, nor is it intended to endorse any views expressed or products or services offered on these outside sites, or the organizations sponsoring the sites.