Transcript Making School Councils Work Better

Parent Involvement that
Makes a Difference
How School Councils can Make a Difference
Presented to Annual People for Education Conference
York University
November 4, 2006
Gord Kerr, M. Ed.
The Ontario School Council Support Centre
The Parent Involvement Centre
UNLESS someone like you
cares a whole awful lot,
nothing is going to get better.
It’s not.
Dr. Seuss
Goals for Today
• Highlight the journey to Ontario’s new
policy on parent involvement
• Parent involvement that makes a
difference
• How school councils can help foster
broader involvement
What positive things happen if all
parents were involved in helpful ways?
• Students would …
• Parents would …
• Teachers would …
The Evidence is Overwhelming
Impact on Students
“Parental participation in schools
positively influences student achievement”
Dr. Joyce Epstein, 1985
“Parental involvement in almost any form
produces measurable gains in student achievement”
Dr. Anne Henderson, 1998
The Evidence is Overwhelming
Impact on Parents
When parents are involved, they tend to
have more confidence in their ability to help their children,
and tend to be more satisfied with the school
Answers the question that almost every parents asks:
“How can I help my child do better in school this year?”
Epstein, 2002
The Evidence is Overwhelming
Impact on Teachers
Research indicates higher levels of teacher
job satisfaction in schools that work well with families
Laskey & Moore, 2003
But there are barriers …
• Languages other than French and English
• Many people are new to Canada
– Involvement with education is not part of the culture in
other parts of the world
• Some fear the authority that schools represent
• Time and other family responsibilities
• Some parents had a bad experience as a student,
and will not step back into a school (…willingly)
• Some do not feel welcome
The Journey to Ontario’s New Policy
on Parent Involvement
• 1994 - Royal Commission on Learning
– School-community councils
– “enhance the primary role of parents in the
education, growth and development of their children
…”
• 1995 - PPM 122
• 1998 - The Road Ahead III
• 2000 - Regulations 612 and 613
• 2005 - The Parent Voice in Education Project
• 2005 – New Policy Introduced
G. Kerr, 2006
The Evolving Role of Parents in Education
50’s, 60’s, 70’s, 80’s
The
Traditional Role
school events
21st Century
Partnerships
Advisory Role
Volunteering
Fundraising
School Events
Major Issues
Volunteering
Fundraising
Attending
90’s
School / Families
and Communities
engaged in helpful
ways to help
students succeed
Providing input and
advice to the school
Learning
Struggling
Change
Narrowly
defined
advisory
role
Learning
Struggling
Change
Recognizes all
forms of helpful
involvement
Joint efforts of
educators and
parents
Kerr & Thurston, 2001
The Five Stages of Development
The Partnership Continuum
Stage 1
Traditional
Role
Volunteering
Fundraising
Attending
Stage 2
Stage 3
Transition 1
Developing
Advisory
Capabilities
Learning
Struggling
Change
school events
© 2001 Ken Thurston & Gord Kerr
Advisory
Role
Respected
advisory role
Balanced and
informed
Stage 4
Stage 5
Transition 2
Developing
Partnership
Capabilities
Learning
Struggling
Change
Advanced
Partnerships
Recognizes all
forms of helpful
Involvement.
Joint efforts of
educators and
parents to focus
on improved
student learning
The New Ontario Parent
Involvement Policy
• Elevates the priority for all levels of the system
to engage parents in helpful ways
• Recognizes many ways that parents can
support their children – beyond just school
councils
• Provides support, funding and expectations to
enhance helpful parent involvement
Policy Highlights
•
Broader definition of the kinds of engagement that can
help children succeed
•
Parent Engagement Office within the Ministry to
coordinate Ministry resources, set goals, maintain effort on
this priority.
•
Engaged six regional offices to take an active role in
supporting boards in implementing the new policy
•
New provincial parent board to replace OPC
•
School councils being asked to play an increasing role in
understanding parents within the school community and to
work with principals and staff to engage parents in helpful
ways
Policy Highlights
•
•
Funding
–
$500 per school council per year (in addition to any existing)
–
$ 1 million grant program to support school councils involved
in special local initiatives to reach out to parents
–
$750,000 fund to support provincial and regional projects
promoting parent involvement
Creation of board level parent involvement advisory
committees
–
•
To elevate the local priority on engaging parents. (eg.
professional development, information sharing, facilitators,
outreach and capacity building).
Improved Ministry web site, containing specific ideas for
engaging parents
The Road Ahead III
Purpose
• Support student achievement
Three Vehicles
1. Increasing parent involvement within the
school and community
2. Involvement in school improvement planning
3. Advising board and principal
The Key Challenge
• How can we stimulate an increase in
parental involvement?
• Break the challenge into two parts
– What kinds of parental involvement make
a difference?
– How can school councils play a role?
Dr. Joyce Epstein
– One of North America’s leading researchers
in parental and community involvement
– Director of the Centre for Research on
School, Family and Community
Partnerships and at Johns Hopkins
University in Baltimore, Maryland
– In 1995, defined the kinds of parent
and community involvement that can
‘make a difference’ in student learning
– National Network of Partnership Schools
Overlapping Spheres of Influence
School
Community
Family
• Each plays a role in shaping the experiences and attitudes of a student.
•How well the resources work together (or not) has an impact on student learning.
Communicating
Learning
At Home
Parenting
Participating In
Decision Making
Epstein’s
Six Types of
Involvement
Volunteering
Collaborating
With Community
“Multiple forms of particular involvement,
deliberately fostered developed and supported”
Dr. Michael Fullan
A multitude of different activities.
Which ones are working? - Which produce results?
Activity
Activity
Activity
Activity
Activity
Activity
Activity
Activity
Activity
Activity
Activity
Activity
Activity
Activity
Activity
Gaps
Activity
Activity
Activity
Activity
Activity
Activity
Activity
Activity
Activity
Duplication
Activity
Activity
Type 1
Type 2
Type 3
Type 4
Activity
Type 5
Activity
Type 6
Activity
Activity
Activity
Activity
Activity
Activity
Activity
Activity
Activity
Activity
Activity
Activity
Activity
Activity
Activity
Outcome Outcome Outcome
Outcome
Outcome Outcome
Communicating
Helping
At Home
Building
Parenting
Skills
Participating In
Decision Making
Adapted for
Ontario
Volunteering
Collaborating
With Community
Attending
School Events
Fundraising
Communicating
What are we doing now?
What do we wish we could do?
What would make a real difference?
Strategic Intent
Examples
• Informative and timely two
way communications
• School newsletters
• Build a sense of shared
purpose and school
community
• Exchange information about
the school or a child
• Enable parents and teachers
to partner to monitor a
student’s progress
• Conferences between
parents and teachers
• Useful notices about
homework assignments
• Websites, email,
voicemail
• Student agendas
• School sign
Helping
at Home
What are we doing now?
What do we wish we could do?
What would make a real difference?
Strategic Intent
Examples
• Enable parents to provide
helpful assistance at home
• A jointly developed
homework policy
endorsed by whole school
• Homework
• Course selections
• School teams, clubs and
special events
• Post-Secondary Programs
• Clear understanding of
expectations at each
grade level (homework
help for parents)
• Information and sessions
on course selections,
career planning and postsecondary programs
• Homework signbacks
Attending
School Events
What are we doing now?
What do we wish we could do?
What would make a real difference?
Strategic Intent
Examples
• Stimulating families to
attend school events (plays,
concerts, assemblies)
• Create a informal ‘meet
the teacher’ night
• Encourage parents to
demonstrate an active
interest in the activities of
the school to their children
• Plenty of advance notice
so families can plan
around events
• Create events where
parents and children can
attend the school together
• Academic nights, sporting
events, concerts
Building
Parenting Skills
What are we doing now?
What do we wish we could do?
What would make a real difference?
Strategic Intent
Examples
• Build the confidence and
capacity of parents
• Establish a parent
resource centre within
the school (books and
videos)
• Help families face the
challenge of being a parent
• Help families become aware
of issues facing their children
and how they might deal with
those issues (eg. Bullying)
• Organize guest speakers
to cover topics of interest
• Create a parent’s room
• Announce other events
occurring in the
community that might be
of interest
Traditional
Volunteering
What are we doing now?
What do we wish we could do?
What would make a real difference?
Strategic Intent
Examples
• Increase the capacity of the
school to support students
• Create a welcoming
environment for volunteers
• Recruit and organize
volunteer help and support
• Joint parent / teacher
leadership team for
volunteers
• Support volunteers with
training, direction, meaningful
work, and appreciation
• Hold separate volunteer
meetings
• Field trip supervisors
• Avoid overwhelming new
volunteers
Fundraising
What are we doing now?
Is it effective?
What would be more effective?
Strategic Intent
Examples
• Enhance the financial
resources of the school to:
• Fundraise for a purpose
• Support student learning
• Rally the school community
around a goal
• Provide additional educational
resources or opportunities
• Avoid disputes over money
• Support children and families
with a health learning
environment
• Curriculum needs
• School yard activities
• Library, teaching or field trip
resources
• Guest speakers
Participating in
Decision Making
What are we doing now?
What do we wish we could do?
What would make a real difference?
Strategic Intent
Examples
• Focus on student learning
• Leverage Eight Strategic
Categories to organize
plans to stimulate
involvement
• Linked to the school’s
priorities for growth and
improvement
• Promote meaningful parent
and community involvement
• Enable parents to make
timely and informed
decisions with or for their
children (eg. course
selections, trips)
• Focus on activities that will
impact student learning
• Participate in the school
improvement plan
• Form a strong partnership
and provide ongoing
advice to the Principal on
a variety of matters
Collaborating
with Community
What are we doing now?
What do we wish we could do?
What would make a real difference?
Strategic Intent
Examples
• Identify and integrate local
community resources to
strengthen school programs
- or be of assistance to
families
• Access community programs in
the school such as Junior
Achievement
• Mobilize community
resources to enhance
student learning
• Service to the community by
students
• Encourage parents to take
advantage of clubs and
teams to enhance learning
for their children
• Access other relevant
community programs
• Bring organizers of community
programs to the school for a
‘community fair’ event
• Fill the community
representative position on
council
Eight Strategic Categories of Parent Involvement
Communicating
Volunteering
Fundraising
Helping
At Home
Preferred Ways
That Parents Engage
In Education
Attending
School Events
(Masters Research, June 2005)
Building
Parenting Skills
Participating In
Decision Making
Collaborating
With Community
A Single Framework For All
Establishes a Common Working Language
A Common Goal:
Improved Student Learning
The Use of a Common Working Language
School
(Educators)
Community
Family
(Parents)
How can it help us?
– A common language to help us work together
– Identify gaps and share best practices
– Focus people on activities that can/will make a
real difference
– A balanced approach to building school / family
and community partnerships
Question?
• What percentage of your school’s
parents are involved in their
children’s education?
Poll Commissioned by
Canadian Teachers Federation
• Conducted May 6 to 11, 2004
• 1,001 Canadians across Canada
• Commissioned Vector Research
• 19 times out of 20, results will differ by no
more that plus or minus 3.1 points
Over 80%
• 84% of parents discussed their child’s progress
with the teacher
• 81% regularly help with homework
• 47% volunteered for activities, field trips and
social events
• 24% volunteer in tutoring or reading activities
to help teachers
• 19% lobbied a trustee or other elected official
about conditions in their school
Masters Research:
Three Guiding Questions
• What are the rates of participation for a variety
of types of involvement?
• Can a council focused on stimulating parental
involvement impact the rates of participation?
• Are there parents who are actively involved
with their children’s education who are unwilling
or unable to volunteer at the school or become
part of the school council?
Communicating
97.8%
Helping at Home
95.5%
Attending
School Events
86.3%
Volunteering
32.5%
Preferred Ways
That Parents Engage
In Education
(Masters Research, June 2005)
Building
Parenting Skills
78.3%
Fundraising
22.0%
Participating
In Decision Making
16.6%
Collaborating
With Community
n/a
G. Kerr, 2006
Why don’t we see this many people in
the school?
Parents have Distinctly Different Involvement Preferences
• Two distinct subsets emerge
• Self identified
• 60% of Parents primarily help their children at
home (and claim not to volunteer)
• 40% Parents are willing and able to volunteer in
some capacity
The Tip of the Iceberg
Volunteer
Fundraise
School
Council
Visible
Attending
Attend
School
School
Events
Leveraging
Community
Building Parenting Skills
Helping at Home
Communicating
Invisible
Different Parents Prefer
Different Types of Involvement
40%
Volunteering
Fundraising
School
Council
Visible
Attending
Attending
Events
School
60%
Leveraging
Community
Building Parenting Skills
Helping at Home
Communicating
Invisible
G. Kerr, 2006
High Levels of Participation in the
“Invisible” Forms of Involvement
“Invisible” Forms of Parental
Involvement
(Modified Epstein Framework)
Actively Primarily
Volunteer Help at
.
Home
Communicating
39.8%
97.3
60.2%
98.4
Helping at home with schoolwork
100.0
92.7
Building parenting skills
82.9
75.9
Coordinating community learning
n/a
n/a
Participation in the
“Visible” Forms of Involvement
Visible Forms of Parental
Involvement
(Modified Epstein Framework)
Actively Primarily
Volunteer Help at
.
Home
39.8%
91.1
60.2%
83.2
Volunteering in class
48.8
2.6
Fundraising
41.5
9.4
Participating on a school council
42.6
0.0
Attending school events
Volunteers indicate higher rates
of involvement across a wide
spectrum of types of involvement
I help with schoolwork at
home
I have volunteered in my
child’s school
I read to my child
I helped supervise class
field trips this year
I attended all parent teacher
interviews
I attended all concerts or
special events when my
child was involved
I have attended seminars or
guest speakers
I have volunteered in my
child’s classroom this
year
I help organize special
events for children
I am or have been a
member of school
council
Implications
• Parents who actively
volunteer …
• Parents who primarily
help at home …
• Will want to know about
upcoming opportunities
and what might be
expected of them
• Most interested in
knowing about how they
can effectively support
their children at home
• Different ways to
volunteer, in-class,
fundraising, events, and
on a school council
• They need support
• If comfortable, may be
willing to volunteer
Case Study using these strategies
• 1,000 schools in
Dr. Epstein’s Network
• Began piloting within
several York Region District
School Board schools a
few years ago
• Embedded in the
Education Improvement
Commission’s Handbook
for School Planning
A Story From York Region
• Rural school in York Region, 100%
bussed students, mix of students from a
broad socio-economic background
• School Priorities
– Literacy
– School Climate
– Assessment
Situation - 2000
• EQAO Grade 3 Literacy results weak
– Dug deeply to discover the issues
• Parents and educators each determined to
play a role
– Accepted shared responsibility for success
• Built a plan to address Reading and Writing
– Staff created a curriculum plan
– School Council created a supporting plan
Action Taken – 2000, 2001
• Joint committee renewed the school’s homework
policy, highlighting the responsibility for parents to
read to children every night
• Used school fundraising and community support
to bring an author to the school
– Spent 3 days with students, an evening with parents
– Occurs now at least annually, featuring different authors
• Funds used to support the purchase of books to
create a Primary Reading Room
• Two years later, created a Junior Reading Room
• Held Raising Readers workshops for parents
Focus on Literacy Action Plan
Parenting Skills
 Parenting
 Dick
tips by:
O’Brien
 Author
(Patrick
Douglas) brought in to
inspire kids and coach
parents
 Raising
Readers
Workshops
In-Class
Curriculum initiatives by staff to address reading
and writing skills, ½ hour of reading time everyday.
building literacy into other subjects.
Writer spent 3 days in the school inspiring kids to
write stories. Staff made good use of Primary and
Junior leveled reading materials purchased by the
school community.
Communicating
 Newsletters
with tips
for parents on reading
to children
 Students
writing
columns in the
newsletter
Literacy
Collaborating with
Community
 How
can parents and
educators work together to
support children - and work
towards improving EQAO test
scores?
 Sourced
funds offered
by community
organizations to support
Author visit
Fundraising
 Focused
on supporting
literacy initiatives
(Primary and Junior
reading room, Writer’s
Circle)
Participating in Decision
Making
 Focused
on literacy
initiatives
 Build
plans into the
school plan for
continuous
improvement
Learning at Home
 Renewed
homework
policy highlighting the
importance of reading
to children nightly
 Writer
provided tips to
parents
Volunteering
 In
class assistants
helping individual
children on reading
and writing skills
Results
• Increased community awareness that we have a
shared responsibility for helping our kids.
• “It’s not about power, it’s about working together”
• More effort focused on literacy through a
partnership approach.
• Patience and resilience to stay the course
• Recognized that the results we were after would
take time
Results
• A positive trend in EQAO scores
Average
2001 / 2002
Average
2003 / 2004 Change
Reading
77
85
+8
Writing
75
89
+14
• Began in 2000, able to read the results in late 2004
• Collaboration, planning, resilience
Do These Categories Explain All
Parental Involvement?
• These eight are the ‘helpful’ categories
• What happens when these fail to support a child
or a family or a school community?
• What happens when there is a failure to create a
collaborative environment?
– Feelings of injustice
– Feelings of being disadvantaged
– A parent needs to ‘do something’ to help their children
Is there a need for yet another
specific category?
Parents as Agents of Change
Advocating
for
Change
Advocating
for Change
Spectrum
Child
School
District
System
Strategic Intent
Examples
From a Parent’s Perspective
• Press teachers for extra
help for a child
• Access the resources I need
for my child
• Improve the learning
environment for my child or in
my school
• Correct a perceived injustice
• Remove barriers
• Gain the political power to
stimulate change
• Press principals for
additional or different
teaching resources
• Press the board for
additional or different
resources
• Press Trustees or MPP’s, or
Ministry of Education for
additional or different
resources
This Can Be The ‘Dark Side’ of
Parent Involvement
• When emotions run high
• When conflict erupts
• Visible involvement where parents can earn and
perpetuate a reputation for being unreasonable
• It generates a fear of parents among teachers
• Which can further reinforce barriers preventing
the development of ‘helpful’ parent involvement
• Yet in a democracy, can also stimulate progress
Best Approach: Actively Manage for Helpful Parental Involvement
Communicating
Helping
At Home
Attending
School Events
Volunteering
Fundraising
Preferred Ways
That Parents Engage
In Education
(Masters Research, June 2005)
Building
Parenting Skills
Collaborating
With Community
Participating In
Decision Making
Advocating
For Change
Who Has Responsibility?
• All levels within the system … Fullan
• Province – leadership and resources
• Board – leadership and resources
• School level – leadership and coordination
• Parents – actively participate as partners
How Do We Increase Parental
Involvement
• Break the challenge into two parts
– What kinds of parental involvement make a
difference?
– How can school councils play a role?
Recommendations
• Stimulate activity within all eight strategic
categories of parental involvement
• Encourage volunteerism
– Effective volunteer management practices
• Support parents who prefer to help at home
• Manage communications to recognize
preferences of different types of parents
Why Use This Strategic Approach?
– Access 25 years of research and discoveries
made into how parents, educators and
communities can work together for improved
student learning
– Enable educators and school councils to
collaborate on activities towards a common
goal - improved student achievement
– Improve the school council experience for
educators and the people who volunteer
their time
Four Take Away Points
1. School Councils can impact student
achievement
By fostering helpful parental involvement that makes
a difference
2. Other parents need your support and leadership,
even if they never ask
3. These strategies can guide your council’s efforts
to work collaboratively with your principal and
staff
4. YOU can take the lead to make this
happen!
Never doubt that a small group of
thoughtful, committed citizens can
change the world. Indeed, it’s the
only thing that ever has.
Margaret Mead
Thank You!
Dr. Joyce Epstein’s Website
www.partnershipschools.org
The Ontario School Council Support Centre
www.schoolcouncils.net
The Parent Involvement Centre
www.parentinvolvement.ca
People for Education
www.peiopleforeducation.com
The Ontario Ministry of Education
www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/parents/involvement