Bringing families and high schools closer together

Bringing families and high schools closer together Presented by Kathleen Larkin Ressource professionnelle Programme de soutien à l’école montréalaise Ministère de l’Éducation New Approaches, New Solutions Eastern Shores School Board Paule Langevin-Brosseau February 4th,2005

Parental engagement, essential to school improvement ! Research has shown the positive impact of parental involvement… • In school success and perseverance of students; • On their behavior and attitudes toward school and school work • On the global development of students.

Areas of parentalengagement • The collaboration with parents can be expressed in different ways other than being present at meetings. • Even though this presence is desirable other forms of parental engagement can be favoured . • Parents can contribute to their child’s success by simply adopting an open, warm and attentive behavior towards school[1]. [1]. Landhy, S., K. T. Kwok (1996). « Les pratiques parentales influencent bel et bien le développement des enfants du Canada ». Grandir au Canada, Statistique Canada, Développement des ressources humaines Canada, p. 117-126 ; Deslandes, R., Potvin, P. (1998). « Le milieu familial et la réussite éducative des adolescents », Bulletin du CRIRES, Nouvelles CEQ, janvier-février 1998, p. 1-4.

Low Socio-economic deprived area • Low level of scholarity makes it difficult for parents to follow-up on school work • Many parents have to deal with an accumulation of problems linked to poverty • Realities vary greatly from one environment to another

IN SUCH A CONTEXT…. • It is important that solutions are not only adapted to the realities of these families but also aimed at promoting the parental role.

THE TRUE BEGINNING OF REFLECTION A rigorous examination of school practices could show, for example • A tendency to communicate only one way ( from school to home)

Best practices to get families and schools closer together Varied and efficient communication tools are developed: • The phone could be used as a communication tool, • Positive comments are systematically sent home.

Best practices to get families and schools closer together Find ways to reach those parents that are usually more difficult to get involved: • Parents of children with special needs; • Parents of students going through difficult times; • Working parents that are unreachable.

Best practices to get families and schools closer together Parents must be able to express their needs, point of view , comments and suggestions : • This will enable the school to verify if the practices in place meet the needs expressed through parents concerns and wishes.

Best practices to get families and schools closer together Mobilization and support of all concerned, especially the teachers, are essential conditions to success . • The research shows that when teachers expect parents participation or engagement, these parents increase their interactions with their children at home, feel more adequate in helping with school work and overall it increases their respect toward teachers.

Establish a connection of trust between the school and it ’s families based on: • Flexibility. • Dialogue. • Time. • Do not create expectations that will not be fulfilled.

In the context of the Supporting Montreal Schools program • Experimentation and projects. • Diversification of practices in the``Milieu``

A new tool… • Available for school personnel and other partners to support schools in Quebec, interested in establishing meaningful collaboration with parents; • This tool is designed to develop mutual knowledge between parents and school personnel.

Instruments developed… • These instruments are based on recent research and also take into consideration the preoccupation by those concerned. • They cover the main stakes of school-family collaboration.

Four areas of school- family collaboration have been given special attention: • Diversifying and facilitating communication between parents and the school • Helping parents exercise their role • Encouraging parents to participate in school life • Working more closely with the community

Two tools: • Inventory of school practices. • Questionnaire for parents. Should be used simultaneously, one after another.

Inventory of school practices • Discussion guide for school team and or other relevant partners. • Questions, practices, illustrations and examples. • Instrument enabling the school to develop an overview of the state of collaboration with the parents

Questionnaire for parents • These questionnaires help the school to verify if the practices in place, embrace the parents concerns and wishes.. • As in the inventory of school practices, it explores multiple needs and presents several suggestions.

Companion guide • Advice on gathering the information, compiling and analyzing the results • Suggestions and ideas on ways to reach out to parents

Analysis of the results • Opens a reflection on the state of the collaboration between school and families; • Helps to choose practices that will improve the situation. These instruments have not been designed for quantitative measurements.

Possible links • MEQ- MESS entente. • Welness in school

In conclusion… • School-family communication is a domain with high priority in the development of collaboration. • A close collaboration between family and school can generate benefits for children and at the same time contribute to the increase in parental enpowerment and develop their participation in student success .

In conclusion… • Moreover, we know that effective solutions that have an impact on student success are those that reach simultaneously the classroom, the school, the family and the community, in short, the entire environment that influences the student development.

In conclusion… • When all actors are commited and convinced of the importance of the support given to children and the link to success, it becomes much easier for all to interact in the same direction.

Bringing families and high schools closer together