Q: Our elementary school is quashing creativity. A group of us parents thinks the lack of arts education, field trips and the like squeezes the joy out of learning. We aren't opposed to tests, and we don't want to home-school our kids; we just want a better elementary experience. How hard is it to start a charter school?

A: It's hard. That doesn't mean your group shouldn't pursue it. Just don't plan for it to open this fall. Charters are places to try out new methods. Some will succeed; others won't.

When Mary Mitchell, the late co-founder of New York City's successful Girls Prep, was asked about starting a charter, she'd advise: "Prepare for more homework than you can imagine, and be ready to jump myriad hurdles. Study the data on what makes a charter school successful long-term. Build in accountability from the start. Fill your planning group with people who will go the distance. It's a marathon."

The planning group's job is to articulate a clear vision and identify people and resources to bring your school into being. That vision should spell out the school's core beliefs and its instructional and management processes. Show the mission, costs and timeline to key parent, educator and civic constituencies. This helps refine the application and anticipate potential funders' questions. Know your state's rules, process and timeline for charter applications.

Be able to clearly define the educational need you're meeting. Florida parent Richard Busto helped lead a team that founded the successful charter Renaissance Learning Center for elementary-age students with autism spectrum disorders. They also founded the Renaissance Learning Academy, a nonprofit high school, as a transition from the Learning Center. The Learning Academy's mission was clear from the start: Help prepare students ages 14 to 21 with autism spectrum disorders for life after school.

You may not have to start a charter to get more of what you're looking for. Teachers also regret the loss of time for the arts, project-based learning and other activities that make school fun. "Most educators will welcome a parent initiative that can help add programs that motivate students and add richness to the offerings," says Tim Sullivan, the president and founder of PTOToday.com. These may be after school, on weekends or during school vacations.

"Family engagement covers a lot of ground," says Sullivan. "From helping create a new playground and ensuring a budget for field trips to working with educators to tweak a curriculum to offer more arts, STEM or other content a community wants."

Ken Robinson, Ph.D., the co-author of "Creative Schools: The Grassroots Revolution That's Transforming Education" (Viking, 2015) encourages parents to engage with educators.

Robinson is famous for his TED Talk, "Do Schools Kill Creativity?" He notes that recent efforts such as the U.S. Department of Education's 2013 family engagement report, "A Dual Capacity-Building Framework for Family–School Partnerships," and the PTA's "National Standards for Family-School Partnerships" spell out principles that foster win-win collaborations.

Clarify your group's goals and approach the principal and other key educators in your elementary school (including the PTO or PTA leadership). What you're seeking may be within easier reach than starting a charter school from scratch.

(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: My eighth-grade son wants to go into a new program his high school will offer that has a technical-career focus. My husband loves the idea. My son is a B-minus student at best, but I'd still like to see him graduate from college. (His older brother dropped out.) Doesn't vocational education narrow students' options?

A: The disappearing middle class and many of the jobs that sustained it have educators and policymakers looking at this very question. Districts and states are ditching your granddad's "voc-ed" to create a more successful approach that expands students' options.

Michael J. Petrilli, president of the nonprofit education think tank the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, points out that career-technical education (CTE) is not a path away from college, but another pathway into postsecondary education. With CTE, Petrilli writes on the institute's blog, districts can create "coherent pathways, beginning in high school, into authentic technical education options at the post-secondary level. ... These arrangements not only provide access to workplaces where students can apply their skills, they also offer seamless transitions into post-secondary education, apprenticeships and employer-provided learning opportunities."

Petrilli cites the findings from a recently released new study from the institute, "Career and Technical Education in High School: Does It Improve Student Outcomes?" The study collected data on Arkansas high school students and found that "students with greater exposure to CTE are more likely to graduate, enroll in a two-year college, be employed and have higher wages."

In other words, high-quality CTE provides a route to the middle class.

What defines high quality, and what should you look for in your son's CTE program? The Association for Career and Technical Education recently published a draft framework identifying some of the characteristics of high-quality programs (for more information, go to acteonline.org):

-- Courses should align with appropriate grade, district, state or national standards to ensure competency in reading, science and math. They should also align with industry-validated technical standards.

-- Students should be able to progress seamlessly without remediation or duplication and have access throughout to career guidance.

-- Students should have multiple opportunities to demonstrate their learning and get continuous feedback. There should be processes that assess program effectiveness over time.

-- To be effective, the staff must be prepared; the facilities should reflect today's workplace.

-- Teachers should use motivating techniques such as project-based learning, relevant equipment and technology, and real-world scenarios.

-- There should be a continuum that progresses from workplace tours to internships and onto apprenticeships.

-- Programs must be offered to all students and support services provided when needed. There should be no barriers to work-based learning or post-secondary credits.

-- Students should have opportunities to foster connections to professionals and activities that advance their goals.

The current way of thinking, "bachelor's degree or bust," often means "a young person drops out of college at age 20 with no post-secondary credential, no skills and no work experience, but a fair amount of debt," writes Petrilli in an article on the nonprofit Brookings Institute website. "That's a terrible way to begin adult life."

(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: At the last grading period, my son Jamal's third-grade teacher was concerned about his reading. She suggested home activities and summer school. I think he'll catch up on his own. Kids don't all learn to read at the same time, so why is this a problem?

A: It may not be a problem, but the data doesn't favor Jamal. Many studies show that being able to read well by the end of third grade means that children do much better in all subjects from fourth grade onward.

There's a saying in education circles, says Kristin Calder, CEO of the Literacy Coalition of Palm Beach County (Florida): "'In the first three grades, children learn to read. In fourth grade, they read to learn.' Students need strong vocabulary and comprehension skills to read science, math and social studies texts. How can you attack a word problem if you can't read the words? Or understand a science lesson on weather if you struggle (to read the word) lightning? Not being able to keep up with subject matter accelerates a cycle of failure that can lead to dropping out."

Cracking the code by the time a student enters fourth grade is so important that many U.S. cities have joined with school districts in a formal Campaign for Grade-Level Reading, says Calder. "Third grade is a pivot point. In Palm Beach County, we make achieving this literacy milestone a major part of our work."

Take your son's teacher's concerns to heart. Carve out time each day to focus on reading at home. Divide it into independent reading and reading to him.

-- Read a few pages of a compelling book, such as a "Harry Potter" novel, to Jamal each night. Stop at a spellbinding spot guaranteed to make him eager to hear more.

-- Get him a library card and work with the librarian to find titles that match his interests. What topics get Jamal excited? Football? Animals? Humor? Check out a stack each week.

-- Try humor. Don't worry if he's still stuck on "Captain Underpants" books. At least he's reading. Find lots of books he might like on guysread.com, a site founded by best-selling children's book author Jon Scieszka that is dedicated to encouraging boys to read.

-- Access digital resources. Most libraries offer Internet access to their collections to download on a tablet or phone. Check out podcasts, too. Favorites include TED Talks for kids and family, and PBS Kids. Find educational games and apps reviewed at Common Sense Media's graphite.org.

-- Add a dose of nonfiction. Atlases, children's almanacs, field guides and other "fun facts" books are easy for readers to get into. Consider subscriptions to magazines such as Popular Science, National Geographic Kids or Sports Illustrated for Kids.

-- Enroll Jamal in summer classes. "There's so much evidence of learning loss during vacation, that many schools welcome kids -- whether they are struggling or not -- into summer classes," says Calder. "The program should give him even more opportunities to practice his reading skills."

-- Keep up the family reading time at home. As summer approaches, it's tempting to let it go. Don't. Jamal needs this "power assist" to do well in fourth grade. Be sure to also monitor his use of video games and other non-reading-related digital media, so he doesn't get distracted.

(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.)