Engaged parents make a difference

FOR BETTER EDUCATION OUTCOMES, EGGEN NEEDS TO SUPPORT, NOT ANTAGONIZE, INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS GUEST COLUMN

It’s back to school. The rush is over. New outfits. New books and supplies. New hopes and dreams. Teachers and students are excited. But parents are excited, too, not just to get their kids out of their hair, but because of the opportunity education presents for their children.

But for some parents, the school year started on a sour note. Alberta’s Education Minister David Eggen kicked it off with threats against 61 independent schools to impose Eggenapproved policies. In an interview earlier this month, Eggen said that if the policies — which forbid notifying parents about a student’s participation in “diversity clubs,” gay-straight alliances and related activities — aren’t posted on school websites by early October, he’ll withdraw their public funding.

Most of these schools are faith-based and already have carefully crafted safeschool policies that protect all students equally, and do so in harmony with their cultural and religious traditions. This diversity is, apparently, intolerable for the procrustean education minister, who insists that all policies be worded as he wants, despite the lack of evidence that uniformity is needed.

The latest research shows parent-run schools in Alberta are actually outperforming public schools on safe spaces and educational outcomes. Resources such as “Visible Learning for Teachers” by John Hattie and the Centre for Real World Learning share the latest research on parental participation and parental engagement. Both sources highlight the positive impact of what is called the parental engagement effect.

The parental engagement effect is working so well in the schools threatened by Mr. Eggen that they have consistently maintained an exemplary record of supporting students and providing a safe, caring, respectful and welcoming environment. Their threeyear average on the Safe and Caring Accountability Pillar results is well above the provincial average. Surveys completed by parents and students typically reveal a 95-100 per cent satisfaction rating and an overall rating of excellent! Why the impressive results? Because these schools are accountable to parents for this important and crucial aspect of operating a school. Because these schools make it their goal to protect all students in a way that is sensitive to their cultural and religious identity. A government intent on excellent educational outcomes would not think of threatening such schools with loss of funding or accreditation.

The research that has gone into the parental engagement effect is sound. It will make you say: “Yes. We’ve known this all along.” What follows is a brief summary.

Parent engagement in their children’s education improves learning outcomes. The more parents and children talk to each other, the better students achieve. Parental engagement can add the equivalent of two to three years’ schooling for a child, adding massively to their overall achievement. So the question the education minister should be asking is how to encourage parental engagement.

Parents are more likely to be involved if they see it as part of their job as a parent, which (it should go without saying) it is. Designing effective home-to-school and schoolto-home communication methods will engage all parents regularly. Parents’ participation in decision-making, including school governance decisions, builds a sense of ownership.

Alberta Education now allows for a student’s demands to trump parental responsibilities. Forget about parental engagement. The government is forcing independent schools to adopt the ideas and worldview of the current provincial government. This is not reasonable or evidence-based.

It would be nice to see the government demonstrate leadership and allow engaged parents to continue to play an important role in shaping their children, in supporting their children’s needs at school, and in participating in decisions that impact their children’s future.

Ed Hoogerdyk taught high school kids for 16 years, and then worked as a principal in one of Alberta’s many independent schools for 16 years. He now works as the Alberta Manager for the Association for Reformed Political Action (ARPA) Canada.