Research on the state of parent engagement is at least a decade old. However, we don’t need numbers to show us that parent engagement is decreasing over the past 10 years.
We hear the reasons everyday, parents do not have time, they don’t understand the long term effect of parent engagement, they don’t understand the curriculum their children are learning or they believe their children are independent and “doing okay”.
We are all challenged with time, there never seems to be enough in a day. We fool ourselves into thinking that because our child did well on his tests, they don’t really need too much involvement from their parents. But the fact is that mental health issues in our youth are on the rise. Children as young as grade one suffer anxiety about school and peer pressure/bullying is happening at an earlier age than ever.
Single family homes and families where parents are working multiple jobs to pay the bills all challenge the success of our students today.
Kids need to know that their parents understand their issues and have their backs.
It is the responsibility of everyone in the educational circle to work on increasing parent involvement. Not just teachers and principals, it takes a real message from the top, that of the Minister of Education through Directors of Education to superintendents through to the educational assistants and early childhood educators. We also need the corporate world that service schools to support events, organizations and resources to increase parent involvement in schools.
With all the challenges being presented, we must be innovative and look for new ways to engage parents. If planning a parent or family event, perhaps consider having a daytime and evening of the same opportunity so parents who work shift or struggle with childminding in the evening could attend at a time that is more convenient to them. Strive to offer events where there is no expectation to have parents contribute money, even if it’s just a raffle a parent may feel uneasy if they can’t afford to participate. Since we know that involvement is markedly less in poorer socio-economic homes, attempt to raise funds in a manner that does not make a student feel excluded if his parent can’t sell enough chocolates or order enough magazines etc. While students love “pizza days” or other type of treat lunches and it is effective for raising money for the school council or school, having a child have to do without that experience because their parents cannot afford to pay is disheartening for that student. Some councils will have families identify that they are not participating due to financial constraints and try to help, but, that means a parent must swallow their pride and share this information with virtual strangers. Perhaps the Principal could identify families which would benefit from “winning” free pizza for the school year for their children. Everybody wins in this case, the student feels equal to the others in his class, the school community demonstrates great compassion and the parent receives the help in a positive way because they are “winners” of a prize and not because they have had to beg for help.
As the coordinator of the largest school partnership in Ontario to be awarded a Parent Reaching Out Grant through the Ministry of Education, I know that interactive workshops or events are the ones that attract the most participation and do the most to encourage parents to work with their children. Instead of having a math night for parents talking about new strategies to help their children, have parents and children sitting together working on these strategies in a way that they can take back home and use to give them both a better understanding of math. The student led learning walk is becoming a popular way to demonstrate to parents how their children will take a basic concept and develop it through the grades. This could be developed into hands-on centres which allow the parent to learn with their child at their grade level and then move through the grades experiencing how these strategies will be used. The benefit of this parent involvement tool is that parents learn how to support their child now and see where this can be used as their child progresses.
Parent engagement with students should be the number one priority of everyone involved in education since research shows that this is one of the biggest factor in increasing student achievement.
Parent involvement in school can be even more challenging. With 2 decades in experience in parent engagement in school councils and schools, it is my view that the single most successful way to get parents involved is for the school administrators and teachers to be welcoming and to empower parents to play a true role in the operations of the school. It means nothing if a principal can brag that he has a huge number of parents that are part of the school council if the purpose is simply to fundraise and do events for students and the school community. To keep a high level of engagement, parents need to feel they are welcomed and valued by the principal and the school board. Some principals may feel that the fewer parents involved, the fewer problems they have to deal with. In fact, parents can be the strongest advocate for the school when challenges arise i.e. overcrowding, closures. Feedback from parents can bring issues to the forefront before they become a serious problem for the school.
It truly does take a village to raise a child, and sometimes a child needs the community to support them because at that time their parent(s) just can’t do it. An involved and supportive community means that every child can reach their potential. No child should be left behind.
Principals can make a difference by doing just a couple simple things:
- Put a welcome sign in the front door.
- Develop a regular communication tool with parents.
- Empower parents and seek their advice. Make parents feel valued.
TOGETHER WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!!! PUT PARENT INVOLVEMENT AT THE TOP OF YOUR PRIORITY LIST TODAY.
If you like this article be sure to share it with other parents and school councils. Use the share buttons above and below this article. Find more articles like this one in our monthly e-newsletter. Be sure to subscribe to it by clicking here.
