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Question: What is your school doing to engage parents?

Parents are your partners, patrons and customers. What is the view of your school? What programs are in place to engage parents?

Administrators, Leadership and management, Marketing, Open House Question, Parents, School heads, Special needs, Teachers, Technology

Open Door Policy

At Trillium School, we constantly strive to make our parents feel welcome and a part of the school community. We have a very active PTA that meets regularly and organizes pizza lunches and ice cream days for the students throughout the school year. This year, we have also taken the initiative to invite the parents of the class that is putting on a performance to our monthly elementary assemblies, so they can be an encouraging and appreciative audience and get a good idea of what is being done on the extracurricular front. Parents are also welcomed as volunteers on school trips, especially in the younger classes. I think our parents really respond well to our open-door policy, as has been substantiated by their consistent responses to our annual surveys, which we conduct in our efforts towards constant self-improvement.

Trillium School,
Markham, Ontario
Seema Bhasin, Grade 7 homeroom teacher

Camping Builds Community
Family Camping Weekend has become a significant community builder in our school of 400 children. Every June, we have a family weekend at Camp Hurontario in Georgian Bay, Ontario. We are only able to take about 120 people so we sell out, but it is a wonderful opportunity for three days to connect completely on a different level, through the beauty of the location, the great activities, wonderful food and friendship, and there is almost no discussion about school. After returning, we have a greater sense of community, which ripples throughout the whole community to those who were unable or not interested in going. As director, it has enhanced my and other participating staff’s relationships with students and parents and it has been a great couple of days of pause for all at a very busy time.

Montessori House of Children
London, Ontario
Margaret Whitley, director

A Place for Every Parent
parents play a large and vital role at selwyn house school. The parent Volunteer association, comprised of several committees, addresses a variety of important needs. each year, a board of directors is selected to coordinate our seven major committees: admissions, argyle shop (uniform), class parents, community service, lunch service, parent education and decorating. we also have a board member for three special events: spirit day (opening barbeque), gryphon sale (used uniform sale) and the black and gold gala. all selwyn house parents are members of the association. The entire community benefits from the incredible work of our volunteers!

Selwyn House School
Westmount, Quebec
Heather Rochette, director, parent volunteer activities and special events

The Breakfast Club
at st. andrew’s college, we host monthly breakfast clubs for parents of middle school and upper school students as a way for parents to get to know one another and informally chat with academic directors, faculty members and advancement staff. These have met with great success, especially those held specifically for new parents at the start of the year. members of the school’s parents association attend the early morning events as well to help answer questions parent-to-parent and offer their experience and insights.

St. Andrew’s College
Aurora, Ontario
Kim Sillcox, director of communications

Comments

Adrienne Castellon

principal, St. Catherine's Elementary, British Columbia

We hosted a numeracy night and a separate literacy night for preschool students’ parents last year. in the fall of 2008, we focused on Kindergarten and grade 1 students’ parents. Also in the fall 2008, a professor from simon fraser university facilitated two math workshops for parents of intermediate students. We engage the parents by involving them in continuing education that aims to ultimately support their children, our students. we see parents as partners in education.

Jessica Langer

director of communications, The Leo Baeck Day School, Ontario

Each year, The leo baeck day school puts on a broadway revue, featuring parents and staff. parents get to show off their considerable talents, kids get to watch their parents on stage acting silly, parents and staff get to work together and the event acts as a fundraiser for school initiatives. everyone has fun and it helps build community spirit!

Denise Ann Watson

public relations, The Glenholme School, Connecticut

The Glenholme School emphasizes the importance of consistency. The Parent Seminar Series, the Parent Weekend Retreat and the West Coast Parent Seminars aim to educate parents on the behavioral techniques of the Glenholme program design. Our outcome studies confirm that the greater the degree of consistency between Glenholme’s treatment program and the student’s home, the higher the student’s rate of improvement.

Erin Adams

director of operations, Greybrook Academy, British Columbia

At Greybrook Academy, the administration invites parents to join us at regular coffee meetings, where we chat about special events, facility upgrades and program developments. Through these meetings, parents can volunteer for particular projects or duties—either one-time or ongoing—and we find that the personal communication really helps make our parent community feel connected to our school.

Denise Ann Watson

public relations, The Glenholme School, Connecticut

Kim Langen

co-founder and president, Spirit of Math Schools Inc., Ontario and Manitoba

Although there is very little time to engage our parents, we believe that it is a crucial key to student success. We engage parents right from the start, including them in the student interview process, and we include parent expectations with the written student expectations. In addition, we encourage parents to watch classes and learn with their kids. Other initiatives include parent evenings, where we teach the parents what the students are learning. This year, we are inviting parents to half of our annual conference, so that they can learn some educational practices alongside other educators. We also have a newsletter specifically aimed to the parents, that includes some of their input.

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Published in:

The Anatomy of Parent Relationships

2009

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