Is your honor-roll student at grade level? Maybe not

“87% of Sacramento County parents think their kids do math at grade level,” reads one billboard. “28% of kids actually do." The goal of the #GoBeyondGrades campaign is to persuade parents to talk to teachers about their child's achievement and take advantage of summer programs, writes Sawsan Morrar in the Sacramento Bee.

In addition to Sacramento County, the foundation-funded billboard campaign is targeting Boston, Chicago, Houston, New York City and Washington, D.C.

In all six regions, 80 percent of parents said their children earn As or Bs on their report cards," according to a recent Learning Heroes survey, and 89 percent believe their child is at or above grade level in reading and math. Parents are very confident that their children will be prepared for success in college and the workforce.

It ain't necessarily so.

It's no wonder districts can't fill seats in summer learning programs. "While this is an all-hands-on-deck moment in public education, most parents are not aware they need to be in the boat," said Cindi Williams, co-founder of Learning Heroes and mother of two. "Parents are problem solvers, but we can't expect them to solve a problem they don't know exists."