To keep a school council thriving year after year it is important to continue to recruit parents throughout the year, not simply before school council elections.
There are many opportunities to engage parents which happen regularly at every school, these include:
KINDERGARTEN REGISTRATION
This is a great time to get new, and often enthusiastic, parents and introduce them to the value of parent engagement both at home and at school.
Having a school council information table for the registration or introduction to kindergarten evenings where members can talk about the work the councils does at the school. It also gives council members a chance to explore the interests and skills of these new community members to identify how they can play a role in assisting the council in achieving their goals.
CURRICULUM NIGHT / PARENT-TEACHER INTERVIEWS
These evenings tend to bring out the greatest number of parents. It is an excellent opportunity to present on the value of parent involvement at home and at school. It is also the best time to have a school council presence promoting the role of the council and the goals that they hope to accomplish during the school year.
GRADE 8 OPEN HOUSE
Having a strong school council representation at open house is the perfect time to encourage parents, especially those who have been involved at the elementary level, to continue the important work of being a member of the school council in secondary school. It is important that they get the message that their involvement has never been more important to their children.
TIPS FOR CONTINUING RECRUITMENT OF PARENT VOLUNTEERS
- Throughout the year there may be new students transferring into the school and it would be helpful if the school council had a welcome package for the family. Part of this package could be parent resources in the area, information about school council meetings and contact information of the parent leaders of the council.Perhaps make part of the next school council agenda a welcome meeting for new parents to the school which helps make the new family feel part of the community as well as an opportunity to introduce the work of the council.
- Use social media to post pictures of fun events hosted by the school council as well as agendas for upcoming meetings.
- Recognize an outstanding volunteer for the work that they do in the school. Not only is this a positive thing for the volunteer, but it shows others that the council does appreciate the work of parents and the role they play at the school.
- Offer child minding at events and at council meetings. This will allow more parents to attend without having to arrange babysitting for their children.
- Talk, talk, talk about the work and positive experience of partnering with the school administrator to improve the educational experience for students in the school.Don’t wait for a school event to speak to parents about being part of the council, talk to parents you meet in the playground, bus stops or other community activities everyday.
- Set up a car pool for council members to assist those who do not drive get to meetings or events.
- Establish a “bring a friend” challenge every couple of meetings. This can be very effective if you have a draw for a gift card for those who bring a friend to a meeting. It adds a bit of fun to the challenge and can double the size of your council over the course of the year.
- Make meetings more fun by introducing an icebreaker activity at the start of each meeting. There are many online resources that provide downloadable activities.
- Now that you are halfway through the school year and parents have attended an event or two, it is a good time to survey parents and ask if and how they can help out at upcoming events. For instance, parents may see that it is easy to give an hour or two and register families for an event or sell raffle tickets etc. and volunteer to do this at the next event.
- Make every meeting valuable to those in attendance by having a topic that is relevant to the school community i.e. traffic in drop off area, school bus safety, school learning plan etc.
- Ask parents to provide their contact information at events and ask if a member could call them and remind them about an upcoming meeting. Set up a phone tree with council members each taking responsibility for calling a few parents and inviting them to the next meeting.
Happy Recruiting!
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