The spirit of positive parent engagement must start at the top. From the Director of Education through every level that connects a student and their parent to learning, the message that parents are welcome and supported must be clearly demonstrated.
I once was told that the biggest problem in engaging parents is that school boards, and in fact the Ministry, do not operate in a customer service framework. They forget that the end user of their product is the student and through them the parents. It is parents that will decide which school their child will attend. It is the parents that provide financial support for the “educational experiences” that are afforded to students that are in addition to the funding provided to deliver the curriculum. I believe this theory is very true. The school board’s customer is the student/parent.
When the Ministry changes or updates a curriculum there is much explained in the media about the exciting supports and educational supports to boards and teachers to bring them up to date on the changes. Why is there not a mention of updating parents and training them to support their children in the new curriculum or learning strategies. Often parents are left to search online to get a brochure with an update on the topic. There needs to be more done. When teachers receive professional development on a subject, the same education should be provided to parents.
A shared goal
The goal to increase parent engagement in a student’s learning and school should be a part of every multi-year plan developed by school boards. Superintendents should require Principals to include a plan to increase parent engagement in their learning improvement plan each year. Principals should give the message to teachers that engaging every student’s parents/guardians is part of the expectation for the year.
While organizations such as Parents Engaged in Education can work to provide tools and resources for parents to engage in their children’s education, we cannot change the spirit of those delivering education to our kids.
Parent Engagement is a trickle down spirit that starts at the top. Make a difference today!!
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