Within the province of Ontario, as well as within the education circles, there is still not a lot of awareness of what a “PIC” is. Although these board level Parent Involvement Committees were mandated to be established in 2006, some have been making final steps in their establishment this year. Even though these committees are relatively new in Ontario, many of the parent participants have been involved in education for a much longer time. Some have been involved at their school and in the community. Some have also been involved in school councils and also regional councils similar to the current PICs. Some have been involved in provincial associations and networks.
With each annual provincial People for Education conference I attend, I have had the opportunity to meet many passionate individuals and parents who have been involved in advocating for children, communities, and public education for many years. It is reassuring to know that others have committed many hours of volunteer time invested in helping other parents navigate the education system and support those who may not be able to. Many do this with a commitment that is truly remarkable. And while there are few awards and recognition opportunities for this volunteer role in education, the work continues.
There are plenty of links and resources that I could post about these committees and their mandates and structure, but the intent of this blog post, and a subsequent post to follow, is to offer a way for others to hear about the work and different responsibilities that a few parents have had in their roles as chairs of these committees that support parent engagement in education. There are 72 school boards in Ontario which would each require a parent as chair of these board level committees to support their district.
It is my pleasure to have Birgit Knoll-McArthur (@BirgMac) and Arlene Morell (@Arleie) share and reflect on their experiences regarding this role in each of their districts:
Birgit Knoll-McArthur, My Boys’ Mom
PIC chair (2009-2011), Superior-Greenstone District School Board.
As a parent of a 20 year old university student, and a 17 year old grade 12 High School student, parent involvement has taken me on a path, which started when my first son entered elementary school. Since then my involvement has grown from being a member of school council in various roles including chair for many years at the elementary and secondary level, to being chair of our Board’s Parent Involvement Committee (PIC). I am part of a Northern Board, which faces declining enrolment, is geographically enormous, and consists of 17 “small” schools.
The objective to being involved simply was “just wanting to know what was going on at the school”,
As I have given my time as secretary, treasurer, vice chair, chair, PIC member, and PIC chair, I have learned about Ministry initiatives, Board initiatives, changes of policies, by-laws, school improvement plans, development of resources, action plans, and many more useful tools to help parent engagement.
My objective is still the same. I still “just want to know what is going on at the school.”
Although school councils and PICs have evolved and changed over the past years, some of the issues remain the same and there is still much work to be done to be as effective as Parent Engagement can and should be.
The Ministry has mandated school councils and PICs to be established. Guidelines, hand books, policies, and tool kits have been researched and drafted with the help of various groups and stakeholders. Grants are being offered for initiatives to encourage parent engagement. However, these grant applications take much time, energy and effort, which parent volunteers often have not available.
As I have been involved, several challenges still remain, which are close to my heart: Respect, Communication, and Compensation.
All members of the school community need to respect each other, to be able to achieve common goals. Students need to respect teachers, teachers need to respect administration, parents need to respect teachers, and vice versa. From my own experience and from conversations with other parent leaders, the respect parent volunteers deserve is often lacking. Are parents too often seen as a stumbling block? If so, why?
Communication between administration and school councils has to be improved in order to reach parents and provide the necessary information. School councils must have Board contact info provided, and the Board must have updated school council info available. And use it in a timely fashion. Why do some councils get the info and resources, and others are still unaware?
When mentioning compensation, a future action plan should include a Ministry funded full – time board position(s) as Parent Engagement Coordinator. This coordinator would provide consistency, experience with school councils and/or PIC, time and opportunity to help coordinate parent involvement initiatives and events at individual schools, as well as energy and creativity needed to get and keep parents engaged.
In my eyes, parent involvement and parent engagement are just as important to student achievement as the rest of the school community involvement is, and it must be recognized as such.
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Arlene Morell, Parent Engagement Advocate
Thames Valley District School Board PIC, Founder and Chairperson 2006-2011
Parent Involvement Committees (PIC) are at best parent driven, parent organized, and founded on the involvement of parents for parents. PIC’s have a similar focus much like school councils to “enhance the accountability of the education system” and promote the involvement of parents, both at the local and system level. Fundamental to the work of parent involvement and engagement is the evidence based definition for the involvement of parents in education, and the incorporation of this definition into the core work of the committee.
Parent involvement is defined as parents as participants whereas parent engagement is defined as parents as partners therefore implies a true partnership between parents and educators in that each takes an equal responsibility for student outcomes. Parent engagement occurs in the relationships of both partners in welcoming and respecting the knowledge and expertise that each brings to the partnership.
I have a vision for parents as partners with education in the province of Ontario; I refer to this vision as a new vision of parent engagement and leadership, which is defined by the original concept for parent partnerships in the context of school councils. Today I am a parent engagement advocate because someone took the time to invest in me, saw the potential for partnerships with parents, provided the information relevant to the system of education and encouraged leadership development.
I speak to parents and school councils, developed the PIC Networking Google Group, along with developed parent leadership training in the context of effective school councils and parent engagement. Although my children have recently graduated from the public education system (my daughter attends Kings College, UWO and my son has successfully completed a Skilled Trade Apprenticeship), I still see myself as a champion for public education and the role parents have as engaged partners in public education. At the local level, my community still embraces the leadership, knowledge and expertise I have developed over the past 15 years. I continue to be called upon to assist and support parents and school councils focus on their purpose of enhancing the accountability of the education system and promoting parent involvement.
I didn’t get to where I am overnight, since the release of funding (Parent Involvement fund and PRO Grants) in 2005-2006 to support the purpose and core work of school councils; I have developed firsthand knowledge of the expanded focus and actions of school councils beyond fundraising and coffee with the principal.
Changes still to be made in order to see the full outcomes for students through parent involvement and engagement. For the meaningful success of school councils and PIC’s a paradigm shift towards parents as assets must occur. True parent engagement focuses on the actions of parents in their home and parents as leaders in schools. Parent leadership focuses on parents as assets, the shared responsibility for student success with schools councils and PIC the leadership councils/committees as the strength based collaborative approach that will see results for students, schools, boards and the Ministry of Education.
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Thank you, ladies! Your dedication over these many years is remarkable! Thank you for guest posting here to share your insight and vision ahead for parent engagement. I know I have benefitted from learning from each of you! I hope others will share their visions ahead for parent engagement in education and we can continue to learn from our experiences that give us insight. Feel free to leave questions for Birgit and Arlene, or connect with them on Twitter!
Robert (@yesknowno)
Dec 17, 2011 @ 10:00:59
Love the idea of getting the perspective from others and those also involved in Parent Involvement/Engagement. I like Birgit’s comment “just wanting to know what was going on at the school”. Knowing what is going on and why can relieve so many anxieties. Arlene’s “someone took the time to invest in me” shows what can happen when mutual visions(people) meet. I will leave with a question “Do we want collaboration or co-operation”. Maybe a whole new issue/topic.
BirgitKnoll McArthur (@BirgMac)
Dec 18, 2011 @ 12:23:24
Hi Robert,
I think we want “collaporation”, meaning both are important. Working together to achieve a goal and to realize shared goals , realizing a common effort go hand in hand and must be a big part of what we are trying to do , for the success of our students , and the success as a parent. As in all aspects of life, a give and take is needed . But that’s just the realist in me speaking…
SStewart
Dec 18, 2011 @ 12:48:03
Thanks Robert, for reading and adding your own thoughts and reflective question! I often think that being informed helps understanding about the why and how of things and, yes, reduces anxiety! Great point about collaboration and co-operation…and as I am typing this I see that Birgit has replied to you as well!
I think collaboration and cooperation (support?) could both help clarify the definitions and visions different partners have for parent engagement. Original mandates use the language of “accountability” but I think what that often means to parents is being listened to and being reassured by a respectful responsiveness to quesions and concerns. It certainly doesn’t seem to be about parents having power to make the decisions. I have been reading a few articles from some US districts that seem to equate engagement with “power”. I don’t think that is what parents in Ontario are looking for. What do others think?
Lorna Costantini
Dec 19, 2011 @ 20:36:20
First of all, thanks Sheila for collecting such experienced parents and getting them to share what they think about parents in schools. There are some really good points made by all three of you. I’d like to chime in on the 3c’s communication, collaboration and compensation.
Communication is the number one barrier to connecting parents to the classroom and yet we continue to hear that some do and some don’t get information. I believe that is partly because parents are not seen as collaborators and thus the need to engage, inform and invite are often after thoughts. Hopefully the approach that Principals like Joe Mazza and Chris Wejr use when working with parents will start to wear off.
Unfortunately too many schools think in terms of what capital parents can bring to the classroom. Which brings me to making a point about compensation. Parent leaders give freely and willing because they do want to know what is going on and being an active participant in a school council or PIC fills that need. But they also freely and willing give their time because they know that they make a difference in the lives of children. I have often wondered what the tally would be if all parent leaders/volunteers added up their time and money how much that might be. Certainly Sheila, Arlene and Brigit are just a few of the dedicated parents and they have and continue to provide a tremendous service in supporting parents. Times how many others?
The frustrating thing for me is losing the expertise of veteran leaders. Children graduate and people move on and the wheel keeps turning in the same rut. It just doesn’t have to be that way. Unfortunately it will take a lot of push and shove to make change. Keep up the good work ladies!! the more we have voices like yours the sooner we will come to paving a new road.
SStewart
Dec 26, 2011 @ 22:49:06
Appreciate your thoughts here, Lorna! Great points too! I am glad that you mentioned that time is freely given with the intent of making a difference in the lives of children. I often worry that such dedication might also be seen as troublesome….but if it is all in the interests of helping children and schools, I hope we can continue to work with that.
And yes, it can seem like “succession planning” in this area, if it occurs, is often led by parents for parents.
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