Spring into your child’s school

BY KATHY MCDONALD

Spring is here and that means Education Week is just around the corner. Boards across the province are inviting parents to come on into their children’s schools and have a peek of the great learning that is occurring in their schools. I strongly recommend that parents take the opportunity to witness the magic of education. Keep your eyes and ears open as notices will soon be coming home.

When schools have open houses and make visible the evidence of your children’s learning it’s an invaluable opportunity to get into the building and connect with your child’s teacher, principal or any educator that interacts with your child on a daily basis. I highly recommend that parents take the opportunity to have interactions, any interactions, with your children’s teachers. It is through these encounters that relationships are built. For many educators having a parent come into the school is taken as a sign of “I care”.

At the Peel District School Board (PDSB) we are working diligently to redefine just what parent engagement is. On Saturday, March 30th, the PDSB Parent Involvement Committee (PIC) hosted its annual “It’s A Family Affair” Conference and invited members of the school council to come and learn about the role of a PIC and a whole slew of other important relevant topics related to schools, education, and student success.

PIC is a board level mandated committee for parent involvement. All school boards in Ontario are legally required to have a PIC. Regardless of the name that a board will use for this committee the role of the committee is the same. “PIC supports, encourages and enhances parent engagement at the board level by representing parents and the community PIC also supports school councils in the [Peel] Board by acting as a resource for information and conducting events at various schools that directly benefit parents from workshops, conferences as well as educational and awareness events. School councils provide information and advice on school matters; PIC does the same at the board level.

PIC acts as an advisory partner to the board in matters of parent engagement and over student success. PIC networks with parents to share ideas, provide support to school councils and helps promote the board’s initiatives with parents. PIC also shares effective practices to help engage parents and provide support to parents/guardians who find engagement challenging for a variety of reasons, including language, lack of child care, time of meetings, etc. PIC works to helps identify and reduce barriers to parent engagement.”

Did you know that in 2019 a guaranteed $500 funding source for every school council was transferred from the ministry of education for school councils? Parents Reaching Out (PRO) grants were approved for the 2018/2019 academic year and all school councils that were successful received grants from the ministry of education. School councils are open to the public whether or not they have children attending the school. School council members share with the principal and school staff the parents’ and community’s concerns.

School councils are advisory and work together with the school principal for the success of all students. Each school council in the PDSB has its own @peelsb.com email account. The purpose of this account is to communicate, disseminate and receive council information. It is the school’s chair/co-chair that lead council meetings. They also prepare meeting agendas and share them with the principal. They play a very important role by acting as a liaison between the principal, parents and the community at large.

Whichever level of involvement you choose as a parent from; reading to your children at night or joining the school council or supporting the PIC in your child’s board it’s important. All levels of parent engagement matters. So, I encourage all parents, caregivers, and guardians to get involved in your child’s education. So, journey with me as we partner together to make your child be the best that they can be. Walk Good! Belle Marché.