Nearly 1,400 projects will be funded across the province, including:
- Workshops for parents, offered by the local school
- Resources and support for parents
- Multicultural school events, with parents invited to participate
- Materials that are translated into the languages that local parents
use so information is easier to understand.
Contact Info
Wynne also announced that applications are now being received from
parents to sit on the new Provincial Parent Board. The board will guide
efforts to increase parent involvement. As advisors to the minister, parent
members will play a critical role in ensuring that effective parent
involvement programs are successfully implemented across the province.
"The new board will ensure that parents have a strong, representative
voice at the provincial level," said Gabrielle Blais, former chair of the
Interim Parent Involvement Advisory Board. "It's a positive step forward as
part of this ongoing new approach to create a welcoming environment in the
education system for parents."
Parents and guardians interested in applying to serve as board members
should visit
www.edu.gov.on.ca and follow the parents link. Applications must
be received on or before February 16, 2007. The board is expected to be
operational this spring 2007.
"We are pleased that the new Provincial Parent Board is being implemented
and that the call for applications has gone out," said Dale Thomson, former
member of the Interim Parent Involvement Advisory Board. "Along with the
increase in funds available to help reach out to parents, this step shows a
government commitment to encouraging parent involvement in education."
The establishment of the Provincial Parent Board and Parents Reaching Out
Grants are key parts of the Ontario Parent Involvement Policy released in
December 2005. The McGuinty government recognizes the vital role that parents
play in the education of their children. Based on this recognition, the policy
provides real support aimed at making it easier for parents to get involved.
Other initiatives that are helping to create a welcoming environment for
parents in the education system include:
- Creating the Parent Engagement Office in January 2006 to support
provincial efforts to facilitate effective parent involvement in the
school system
- Launching the parent section of the Ministry of Education website to
give parents access to useful news and resources including "Involving
Parents in the School: Tips for School Councils"
- Establishing Parent Involvement Committees at school boards to give
parents a direct link to the Director of Education and trustees.
The grants are part of an original $5.2 million investment in activities
to help parents get involved. This investment also includes providing $500 per
school council and $5,000 plus 17 cents per student to support Parent
Involvement Committees in school boards.
"I continue to be inspired by the enthusiasm, dedication and creativity
shown by parents in this province," said Wynne. "Encouraging more parents to
get involved in Ontario's publicly funded schools is just one of the ways our
government is working to reach every student."
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www.edu.gov.on.ca
www.ontario.ca/progress
Backgrounder
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HELPING ONTARIO PARENTS GET INVOLVED IN THEIR CHILDREN'S EDUCATION
Parents Reaching Out Grants
In October 2006, the Ontario government asked for proposals from school
councils under the Parents Reaching Out Grant. The grants are for projects
that help parents who face challenges in getting involved in their child's
education. This could include parents who have recently settled in Canada,
whose first language is neither English nor French, or who face socio-economic
or physical challenges.
Parents play a vital role in the development and education of their
children and in the success of Ontario's schools.
School councils across Ontario submitted more than 2,800 applications for
projects. In response to the number and quality of applications that were
submitted, the government is dramatically increasing its investment to more
than $2.5 million - funding nearly 1,400 projects in every school board across
the province.
School councils across the province submitted project proposals on their
own or in partnership with other school councils, or parent or community
groups.
The grants are part of an original $5.2 million investment in activities
to help parents get involved. This investment also includes:
- $500 per school council to assist with parent communication and other
parent engagement efforts. School boards have been asked to allocate
this funding at the school level, on top of any existing allocation
they provide to school councils.
- $5,000 plus 17 cents per student to support Parent Involvement
Committee activities at the board level, including district meetings
and communication in schools.
- $750,000 for parent-focused regional and provincial projects aimed at
enhancing parent involvement. Parent organizations, school boards,
non-profit organizations and others were invited to apply in
partnership with parents.
The New Provincial Parent Board
The new Provincial Parent Board will provide a strong voice for parents at
the provincial level, and play a critical role in ensuring that effective
parent involvement programs are successfully implemented provincewide.
The board will guide provincial efforts to involve parents in their
children's education, and will perform two key functions:
- Advise the minister on getting parents involved in education
- Monitor the state of parental engagement in the school system.
Based on recommendations from the Interim Parent Involvement Advisory
Board, the new board will include 20 parents, representing regions and school
boards from across the province.
Three board members will be selected from each of the ministry's six
regions within Ontario. In addition to these 18 regional members, two more
members will be selected to ensure the board is representative of Ontario's
diversity and offer a variety of experience. They will come from rural and
urban areas, and the four publicly funded education systems (English public,
French public, English Catholic and French Catholic).
Parents and guardians interested in applying for a position on the board
should visit
www.edu.gov.on.ca and click on the parent link for more
information and to download an application form.
Applications will be screened for eligibility and completeness. A
nomination committee made up of parents and staff from the ministry's Parent
Engagement Office will then review the applications and make the final
selection of members. Parent committee members will be four former members
of the Interim Parent Involvement Advisory Board.
Applications must be received on or before February 16, 2007, and the
board is expected to be operational this spring.
Interim Parent Involvement Advisory Board
In November 2004, the Parent Voice in Education Project was created to
make recommendations on the establishment of an independent, representative,
provincewide body that would be accountable to parents. They held public
meetings in early 2005 and based their final recommendations on over 1,150
submissions from parents and parent organizations.
The minister asked members of the Parent Voice in Education Project to
act as the Interim Parent Involvement Advisory Board and to provide advice on
choosing members of the Provincial Parent Board and the establishment of grant
programs for school councils, and regional and provincial projects.
The board was composed of 16 parents representing regions across Ontario
who had demonstrated expertise in parent leadership.
Parent Involvement Policy
In December 2005, the government announced a new provincial Parent
Involvement Policy to make it easier for all parents to participate in their
child's education and future success.
The policy provides direction to the Minister of Education, the ministry,
school boards, schools and their staff to create conditions, attitudes and
supports for parents to engage in their child's education.
The provincial Parent Engagement Office was created in January 2006 to
support provincial efforts to facilitate effective parent involvement in the
school system.
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