How to get parents involved on your school council
Here are some strategies used successfully by school councils to encourage parent participation:
Be visible
Make sure that all parents know about the school council and have a chance to meet council members.
- Make sure that school council has a presence at all school events. Encourage council members to attend meet the teacher nights, open house, curriculum evenings, school fair and other school activities.
- set up a school council booth or display in a visible location
- hand out information about the school council and its activities
- make a brief presentation, if feasible
- provide a sign-up sheet for interested parents – call and invite them to the next meeting
- ask the principal to reinforce the important role of the school council at the events
- Take advantage of opportunities to meet new parents when they first come to the school:
- make a presentation to new parents at kindergarten registration or new parent information evenings (grade 5/6 and grade 8)
- include council information in kindergarten registration or welcome packages for new parents
- make a point of talking in person or by telephone to new parents and making them feel welcome
- attend a spring council meeting of each feeder school (grade 5 and grade 8) and make a presentation about middle or secondary school councils
- Make sure the council chair and members spend time at school regularly and make themselves known to other parents.
- Provide name tags for council members to wear when they volunteer at the school.
- Arrange for the school council chair to speak at community events (e.g. Rotary Club, multicultural events, fundraisers etc.).
- Word of mouth is still the best way to connect with interested parents – encourage council members to introduce themselves and talk about school council whenever they meet other parents (e.g. at the bus stop, waiting for their children after school, at the school BBQ).
- Make sure that parents know that information about school councils is available in 25 languages on the Peel board website (www.peelschools.org)
Communicate, communicate, communicate
Let parents know about council meetings and share information about council decisions and activities.
- Collect and maintain a data-base of parents’ names, addresses, phone numbers and e-mail addresses.
- Use e-mail to send meeting notices, event announcements and updates on school issues.
- Be open and inviting – let parents know they’re welcome at council meetings.
- send a letter home inviting parents to be involved in council
- if your school has an outdoor sign, use it to promote council events and meetings
- target specific grade levels at each meeting and send them personalized invitations
- several days before each council meeting, send parents the agenda and the minutes of the previous meeting
- encourage council members to bring a friend or “buddy” to each meeting
- ask teachers to recommend parents who might be good candidates for school council
- call parents a day or two before the meeting and encourage them to attend
- Regularly share news of council activities and events with parents.
- post the school council annual report in a visible location at the school
- ensure that important notices and meeting announcements are translated and sent home to students in the main languages of the school
- develop a school council newsletter or create a school council section in the principal’s newsletter – have current issues available in the school office
- Reward and recognize volunteer efforts – let parents know their contributions are important.
Make council meetings positive and productive
Meetings should be informative, well-organized and held at convenient times.
- Try to make council meetings as convenient as possible for parents.
- rotate meeting nights – include some daytime or early-morning breakfast meetings
- parents may have children at more than one school – try to set meeting dates that don’t conflict with meetings or events at feeder schools
- hold some meetings at other locations (e.g. library, temple, community centre)
- provide babysitting for parents with young children – ask secondary school students to help with babysitting and offer them community service hours
- Make sure that parents know and understand the purpose of the meetings.
- have clearly established missions, goals and objectives
- pursue activities and events that support student success – don’t let personal issues or the concerns of individual parents dominate the meetings
- don’t give parents “jobs” the first time they show up at a meeting – let them have time to learn about school council before asking for more commitment
- reassure parents that the time commitment is manageable and that there are a range of volunteer opportunities available
- Run meetings efficiently.
- set council meeting dates (and topics, if possible) early in the year and publicize them regularly
- develop a dynamic and proactive action plan at the beginning of the year – and follow it
- set an agenda for each meeting and send it out ahead of time
- keep meetings short – start and finish on time
- use the agenda to set time limits for reports and discussion – try to stay within those limits
- set up sub-committees to handle more involved issues and have most of the discussions at that level – ask sub-committee members to come to council with clear recommendations for action
- encourage more “co” roles on council (e.g. co-chair, co-treasurers) – when one member retires, the person in the “co” role will have the skills and experience to take over the position
- Make meetings interesting and informative.
- survey parents for topics of interest or speakers they would recommend
- invite special speakers or guest experts to present at meetings (topics don’t always have to be about school) – invite neighbouring schools and other members of the community to attend
- invite students to present on specific topics
- make meetings fun – provide food and allow some time for socializing
- avoid having a lot of discussion about fundraising at each meeting
- keep “red tape” to a minimum – focus more on supporting student learning and less on administrative details
