Revolving around the theme Pathways to Success, the 2nd Edition of Ignite Parents, held on Wednesday, April 10, 2013 at the Listowel Golf Club was an evening of enlightening but brief presentations aimed at helping parents gain a better understanding of their student’s education. Presenters focused on such topics as apprenticeships, college, university, school to work, tech and skilled trades for men and women as well as student re-engagement.

Following the Ignite format, each presentation is only 5 minutes long utilizing 20 slides timed to advance after 15 seconds. If you missed the evening or attended and would like to watch the videos again here is the link to the Ignite Parents website: http://igniteparents.ca/

The First Ever Earth – Space Music Monday Concert

Is your family following the exploits of Canada’s Commander Chris Hadfield in the International Space Station? Classrooms and family rooms all across Canada are enthralled by Commander Hadfield’s easy communication style as he explains what it is like to live up on the space station and the purpose of the many experiments being conducted during his stay. He even took time out from the “official business” of the space station to collaborate with Ed Robertson (of Barenaked Ladies fame) in writing a song called “Is Somebody Singing,” the official theme song for 2013′s Music Monday. A very special treat is coming up for us on Monday, May 6, 2013 at 12:00 pm EDT as Commander Hadfield will take part in the nation-wide live webcast of this event together with earth bound participants located at the Ontario Science Centre in Toronto. For more information including the full line up of performers  check out Music Monday’s website at http://www.musicmonday.ca.

This event is especially timely in light of People for Education’s recently released report on The Arts in Ontario Schools which examines the availability of arts education to Ontario’s student population. The final recommendations of this report note that:

“there is strong evidence that arts education provides a key foundation for developing the students’ creativity, engagement and academic achievement. Arts education both supports individual learning and development and builds students’ capacity to communicate and work in teams.”

The full report with all it’s findings and recommendations is available through this link on the People for Education website: http://www.peopleforeducation.ca/pfe-news/students-missing-essential-arts-education-and-enrichment/

PRO Grant Submission Deadline: May 21, 2013

The PRO grants for school councils are intended to support school-based initiatives to reach parents who face barriers that prevent them from becoming involved in their children’s learning at home and at school. School councils may develop proposals individually, with other school councils in the same board, or with other groups in the school or in the community. PRO grants support the ministry’s goals and key priorities such as the Math Strategy and our commitment to helping parents work on math with their children. The grants also support a “whole school” approach to fostering a safe, inclusive and accepting school environment.

Please note that the deadline for the 2013/2014 PRO grant submissions is Tuesday, May 21, 2013. Applications are required to be submitted electronically using the on-line application tool found at: PRO Grant Application

Click here for the ministry guide to completing your application: PRO Grant Information

Please remember to forward a copy of your submission to the Director’s Office.

The second annual Ignite Parents event is shaping up to be an evening of quick and enlightening presentations in the field of education from educators, parents and students within our school board. This year’s Ignite Parents theme is “Pathways” where we will explore the diverse routes our students follow upon graduating from our secondary schools.

The idea to organize an Ignite Parents event came from the Ignite concept itself. Ignite is a community building speaking event hosted in communities all across the world where people gather to share their passions and ideas using 20 slides that auto advance every 15 seconds for a total of just 5 minutes. The motto of an Ignite event is: “Enlighten us, but make it quick!” We loved that idea and the unique format, so we decided to adapt the Ignite concept and narrow the focus and theme to education.

Ignite Parents promises to be a fun and exciting evening with inspiring presentations by passionate people. The event is free and open to all, there will be displays, refreshments, door prizes, live music, a cash bar and of course, some fabulous presentations!  Even more information can be found on our websites: http://www.yourschools.ca and http://igniteparents.ca. We hope you’ll join us at the Listowel Golf Club on Wednesday, April 10, 2013 from 6:30 to 9:00 p.m. And prepare to be engaged…prepare to be enlightened!

Gender Differences

Most questions showed no significant difference based on gender. The most significant differences in responses by gender were with respect to reasons for feeling unwelcome at school. A larger percentage of female students admit to feeling unwelcome due to grades, appearance and income. Additionally, more males than females report bullying to parents, guardians and other students.

Next Steps

We need to further examine why there are differences in how students feel accepted in schools.Schools have implemented a number of strategies in order to improve school culture and climate and address student safety including Tribes, Roots of Empathy, HOAP (Honesty, Ownership, Apology, Plan), Challenge Days, Peer Mentors, Peer Mediators, and restorative practices. Each of our schools have planned and implemented strategies to address equity and inclusivity in the school as a means of improving school climate. These plans are focused on addressing the survey results specific to each school. Schools continue to use the board’s identified character attributes as a framework for guiding student behaviour.

This video presents thoughts from administrators, teachers and students on the day to day challenges to ensure accepting schools. Each safe schools team has established a goal to address some aspect of the school climate survey results in its building. Schools will be reporting to their regional superintendent on the progress with these initiatives. Schools are developing a bullying prevention plan which will included:

• mechanisms for raising awareness regarding the negative effects of bullying;
• procedures for dealing with bullying when it is reported; and
• supports for victims of bullying, the students who bully and the bystanders who witness bullying.

Surprisingly, findings show the kind of involvement that makes the biggest difference in students’ chances for success in school isn’t what most parents might expect. More important than limiting TV time, volunteering on the school council, or even monitoring homework, there are four things that lead the pack:

• Letting your child know you have high expectations for him or her
• Talking with your child about school
• Focusing on students’ attitudes, more than their marks
• Reading to and/or with your child

In addition to the download for the Parent Toolkit, you’ll find handy tip sheets to share and download for parents, principals and teachers.

To help get the group started, team members went on field trip to the grocery store and participated in a Supermarket Tour, lead by a PDHU dietitian. The tour lasted a little over one hour, and gave students time to learn how to read a food label, how to compare similar products for nutritional content, and where to find healthy options in the grocery store.

Since then, the Health Busters have been meeting regularly to brainstorm snack ideas and ‘bust’ common snack myths. For example, the group promotes eating fresh fruits instead of gummy fruit-flavoured snacks, as gummy snack products do not typically contain any real fruit, and therefore provide little, if any, nutritional value. And the team is sure to stick to the rules – snacks must contain foods from at least two food groups, while meals must include a minimum of three. Congratulations to Anne Hathaway for busting their way to healthier eating!

Watch these health-fighting students in action at the grocery store:

Lately, I’ve begun to question the effectiveness of our current “recruiting” practices, knowing full well that there’s always room for improvement and that there’s got to be better ways to connect with parents. It’s one thing to advertise in the school newsletter, embrace technology and social media by posting here on this website, tweeting or putting it out there on facebook. But are we really connecting with parents? Or is this dissemination of information (and requests) more one-sided? Gulp. I’m thinking that despite my best intentions and efforts, it’s been the latter.

I came across this article in PTO Today by Liz O’Donnell. Although based in America, I think the message is very much the same. There’s some good information in here that I think all school councils can relate to, apply and learn from and why I’m sharing this here today. I know I’m learning more and more, and I’m being reminded, that it’s not about the volunteering itself…it’s about the relationships.

As always, I invite your comments and would love to hear from you.

9 Steps To Recruit More Volunteers

A common lament among PTO leaders is “We just can’t get volunteers.” And while it certainly might feel that way to an overcommitted, overtired board, it’s probably not completely accurate. By redefining your idea of a volunteer and changing how you respond to “I’d love to, but,…” you can tap into a wider group of parents than you might have thought were available and accomplish more than you imagined. Here are nine steps to build your volunteer base and enlist an army of unstoppable parents.

1. Set Expectations—Your Own

You’ve made the choice to serve on the PTO and you’ve thrown yourself into the role. Not everyone is going to share your energy and enthusiasm, and that’s OK. Accept that other parents may not be willing or able to log the hours you do, and be appreciative of the time they can give. The last thing you want is to send the message that a mom doesn’t care about her child because she can’t staff the book fair. Maybe she can make reminder calls or provide supplies for the event. Remember, most people start small before taking on the big tasks. The person who volunteers an hour this time may end up running the entire event in the future.

2. Prioritize the Relationship Over the Transaction

When I was PTO president, my to do list was always growing and I wanted to get things done as quickly and painlessly as possible. When a volunteer turned me down, I’d quickly move on to the next person who might complete the task when I should have been taking time to nurture the relationship. While my approach seemed efficient, it probably hurt me in the long run. “I really do think it’s about relationships,” says Haleh Rabizadeh Resnick, immediate past president of the Kellman Brown Academy PTG in Voorhees, N.J. “People get caught up in ‘I have to get an event done and I need to line these people up,’ but the reality is you have to create a relationship and find out where people are coming from.” Rabizadeh Resnick says that those relationships will pay off and that the person who says no this time might be the one who says yes the next time you’re looking for help.

3. Play to People’s Strengths

One year I decided to turn our school directory into a moneymaker by selling ad space in the booklet to local businesses. I divided up the merchants in town among different members of the board and set a deadline for selling the ads. When the deadline arrived, I was the only one who had sold anything. My mistake: assuming everyone was comfortable selling door to door. Frustrated, I decided I would have to complete the whole project myself, and I spent hours trying to lay out the booklet on my computer—something I had no idea how to do. The next year, the new board decided not to sell ads after hearing that the project hadn’t been successful. If I had slowed down at the beginning of the project and asked the other board members whether and how they wanted to be involved—selling, doing the graphics, entering the data—we would have been successful. And just maybe the $500 I raised that year would have grown to $1,000 the next.

4. Think Positive

Rabizadeh Resnick says that many PTO leaders come from a negative place when asking for vol-unteers. I see this every month at my son’s school when the Bingo Night coordinator stands up and practically begs for volunteers by telling the parents in attendance that “it’s hard to get help” and that volunteering “is really not that bad.” Rabizadeh Resnick says pleas like that actually send the message “Don’t help me.” Instead, emphasize the positive aspects of volunteering—the fun everyone has when they pitch in for a common cause, the chance to connect in new ways with the school, and, of course, the good example parents set for their children when they give their time to the PTO.

5. Step Outside Your Comfort Zone

“A lot of parent-teacher groups have a very small group of people who volunteer. Typically, it’s a group of friends who come and ask their friends to volunteer, and that’s it,” Rabizadeh Resnick says. “But you need to reach out and involve people you don’t know, too.” Look for ways to widen your circle of volunteers by connecting with those who typically don’t make it to meetings or who aren’t free to help out during the day. Draw in these parents by giving them plenty of options for vol-unteering, including assignments they can do on their own schedule from home.

6. Go High-tech

Shaun Dakin, a member of the PTO and lead room parent at Thomas Jefferson Elementary in Falls Church, Va., says technology makes it easier for people to say yes to volunteer assignments. “I need to get parents’ attention and time,” Dakin says. Websites like VolunteerSpot allow him to create a calendar where parents can sign up well in advance for tasks and events. “There are lots of dual-income parents who work a lot and have a lot of information thrown at them. So it’s my job to let them know what assignments are available,” he says. Also, at the beginning of each school year, Dakin collects all parents’ email addresses as well as cell and home phone numbers, then uses email messages and a robocall system to send requests and reminders.

7. Tell the Truth

When my best friend asked me to be her PTO copresident at our children’s school, she promised me it wouldn’t be that hard. I didn’t believe her, but I signed on anyway. One PTO volunteer from St. Louis who prefers not to give her name says, “I was bribed at a coffee shop with a cup of coffee and the promise that most of the stuff runs itself. They lied.” In an effort to get help, it’s natural to downplay the effort required. However, if we set realistic expectations, we build trust and goodwill among the volunteer base.

8. Let Go

Rabizadeh Resnick urges PTO leaders to relinquish some control even though it can be hard to do: “Something might not be done in the way you want it done and at the pace you want it done, but the reality is 95 percent of time it’s going to be pretty good.” After all, she says, “Adults are not going to come and do a shoddy job at their kids’ event.” Leaders are more effective when they manage vs. do, and volunteers are usually more satisfied when they can take full responsibility for their assignments.

9. Say Thank-you

When my son was in 1st grade, I wanted to spend time with him during the school carnival as I’d been traveling for work and hadn’t seen much of him that week. So I said no to working any shifts during the event and I instead signed up for cleanup. At 9 p.m., after a long day of work, I was finished with the cleanup and I went home. The PTO board was standing in a group talking while I worked, and they never acknowledged my arrival or my departure. In the following PTO newsletter, they thanked all the parents who planned and staffed the event but didn’t mention the cleanup crew. I didn’t volunteer again until a new board was voted in. It wasn’t that I needed public recognition. But I did want to feel that what I did mattered. “You can’t thank people who do the smallest things enough,” says Rabizadeh Resnick. “You never know how much they may have rearranged their day to do that.”

“No” Is Just the Beginning

Salespeople are trained to believe that successful negotiations don’t start until they hear the word no. Recruiting volunteers is essentially sales—but instead of selling a product or a service, you’re selling a parent on the benefits of supporting their child’s school. So the next time you hear “I’d love to, but…no,” remember that the discussion is just beginning. Here are several things you can do to turn a no into a yes.

Get permission to ask again

“I understand you can’t do face-painting at Family Fun Night, but can I call you in the future if we need help?” Most likely the parent will say yes. And if they say no, then you’ve saved yourself time pursuing a parent who just isn’t available or interested in helping.

Offer an alternative

“Unfortunately, the cookie dough orders need to be distributed during school hours and you’re not available during the day. We often need help sending out emails at night. Would that work for you?” Keep exploring until you find a way to include a parent who just may be looking for a way to get involved.

Remember the relationship

“Yes, I can imagine you’re pressed for time; I haven’t seen you at pickup. Are you busy in the afternoons?” Perhaps you’ll discover that the parent does freelance PR in the afternoons and could easily write the monthly newsletters or submit press releases to local news outlets.