"Whose School Is It?

" Guide

1) Category:
Instrument

2) Issues Behind the Program:

Some parents have difficulty figuring out what their role is in supporting their children at school. Others would like to collaborate and be more involved but do not always know how to go about it. What is their place at school? How can they make requests and get answers? How can they make a difference in terms of practices? Whose School Is It? supports the creation of a group of parents who want assistance or a place where they can be heard, but who also want to be in a more informed position and be capable of exercising critical judgement.

3) Objectives:
Share viewpoints on the role parents play in their childrens education. Create conditions for collaboration between parents and the school in setting up a support system for parents who want to participate. Offer parents a place where they can gather and be heard. Encourage parents to exercise their role as citizens. Legitimize parents right to exercise critical judgement about the quality of the education being given to their children.

4) Environment:
Primary and secondary schools Community

5) Target Group:
Parents

6) Key Words:
Whose School Is It? coeuraction, school-family-community partnership, guide, parents, success in school, support, commitment, participation, collaboration, educational disparity

7) Description:
This guide is based on a popular approach to education heavily indebted to Paolo Freires work on community empowerment.

This factsheet was taken from the following website: http://rire.ctreq.qc.ca/.

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The guide consists of three modules that cover the concerns expressed by parents in recent years: o o o The legitimacy of their role as parents; Their participation in the schools decision-making process; Their involvement in addressing educational disparity.

These modules are made up of workshops that can be arranged according to the groups availability and objectives. The tools found in the guide are written in simple language so people uncomfortable with written expression can have access to it.

8) Steps:
I. Name a leader who will build the partnership between school, parents, a community organization and, if needed, other partners from the community to plan the action to be undertaken. Name a leader who will see to development and recruiting as well as communication with the parents during and between meetings. This person is the main resource and contact throughout the process. Find a room that is welcoming and make arrangements for childcare, snacks and refreshments. The workshops are organized and moderated by the two leaders. If needed, provide an interpreter.

II.

III. IV. V.

9) Activities/Actions:
This guide suggests a series of activities based on a popular approach to education. The most productive formula is to have 8 to 10 workshops lasting 90 to 120 minutes. The ideal group size is between 10 and 20 parents. Holding the sessions in several languages at once fosters respect between the different linguistic groups in the school and improves their productivity. The flexibility of the workshops makes that possible. The following workshops are suggested and their content and delivery style are described in great detail: o o o o o o o Defining our concerns Drawing on our strengths Defining our role as parents Prepping for action Knowing where to get the information we need Moving on to action Building the future

10) Resources Required:

Human resources: o o People in charge of liaising, promotion, and conducting workshops Community partners

This factsheet was taken from the following website: http://rire.ctreq.qc.ca/.

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Infrastructure: o Meeting rooms, childcare and snacks

11) Roles of the Participants:

Liaison: o o o in charge of bringing together the school, the parents and the community partners; co-leads the workshops. in charge of recruitment, co-leadership of the workshops, and follow-up with the parents. train the workshop co-leaders; plan and lead a series of workshops based on parent demands and concerns; support parent participation in evaluating program benefits on the individual and community level. encourages parents to participate; helps make the process a natural one for the school; participates in evaluating the institutional benefits.

Promotion:

Community partners: o o o

School: o o o

12) Scientific Basis or Validity:

The guide was created by David Dillon (McGill University, Faculty of Education) and Vivian Wiseman (Centre Saint-Pierre). Since 2005, some 100 parents have attended the workshops made possible by the guide. In 2008, a group of parents (most of them new Quebecers) and partners did a qualitative assessment of the program. The study revealed the following: o At the individual level: Parents showed more confidence vis-a-vis their children and in their communication with the school and were able to solve certain problems. Children felt encouraged and proud to see their parents at the school. At the community level: Parents felt like they were among family when they got together. They offered each other mutual support, developed a strong sense of belonging to the school and felt able to and responsible for helping other parents to be more active at the school. At the institutional level: The parents revived the Parent Participation Organization (PPO) and successfully organized a community event to bring the parents from that school together. The school adopted their proposal to offer more support to parents in the way of information, translation and improvements to the general assembly. They were given the go-ahead by the Governing Board and played an active role vis--vis the other parents at the 2009 general assembly. Some parents decided to seek nomination for the next Governing Board and PPO. The school commissioner obtained a grant for the PPO and watched the changes happening at cole Saint-Benot. The school principal consulted with the parents to see where they would go from there.

This factsheet was taken from the following website: http://rire.ctreq.qc.ca/.

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13) Program Material:

Whose School Is It ? in French and English versions in print or on CD-ROM

14) Additional Information:

The information contained in this factsheet was taken from: David Dillon and Vivian Wiseman (2008). Whose School Is It ? Montral, Qubec, Centre de ressources de la troisime avenue.

15) Contact:
Danielle Landry, Coordinator Centre de ressources de la troisime avenue 3535, avenue du Parc Montral (Qubec) H2Z 2H8 Tel.: (514) 279-1286 Email: info@crta.ca

This factsheet was taken from the following website: http://rire.ctreq.qc.ca/.

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