Enhancing Parent Engagement

WHY THIS PRESENTATION?  Research tells us that parents don’t always understand what school leaders do  Understanding our role and our responsibilities will help you to be more informed and engaged  To best meet the needs of our students, we all need to work together

WHO WE ARE  Meadowcrest Public School is a community of 375 students in JK – Grade 8  The students are taught by 21.5 teaching staff  2 ECEs in our FDK program, 1 Educational Assistant  Trina Lewis – Principal Susan Tanner – Vice-Principal  Darlene Baird and Mal Johnston – Admin. Assistants  Dave Bell & Derek Rumley - Custodial team  Heather Jessup - Teacher-Librarian  SERT – Susan Tanner

OUR SCHOOL BOARD  Meadowcrest is part of the Durham District School Board  Our Whitby Area Superintendent is John Bowyer  The Director of the Board is Lisa Millar  Our trustees are Kimberly Zeppieri and Christine Winters

WHAT IS YOUR ROLE?  School Councils were set up to ensure parents could have greater involvement with their child’s education  The goal of School Community Councils is to improve student achievement and enhance the accountability of the education system  Any parent can be a member  There is also a community member and school staff (P, VP, teacher, support staff) on the Council  All home/school connections are important, whether you belong/attend School Council meetings or not

SCHOOL COUNCILS  School Councils make recommendations to the principal and School Boards  Principals consult School Councils on a variety of matters that affect student learning  Principals consider recommendations made by School Councils  Parent involvement is one of the most significant factors contributing to a child’s success in school  The Principal is a non-voting member of the School Council

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A PRINCIPAL While every day is different, my typical day consists of:  Ensuring the students arrive safely (through the Safe Arrival Program)  Meeting with the staff (teaching and support)  Managing facility issues with the caretaker (playground, parking lot, boiler room, washrooms)  Monitoring the safety of the building  Ensuring students are adequately supervised  Talking with kids (formally and informally)

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A PRINCIPAL  Responding to board directives and issues  Communicating with parents (proactively or follow-ups)  Focusing on student safety, achievement and engagement  Collaborating with other Principal colleagues on school and board issues

MY RESPONSIBILITIES  I have many duties and responsibilities under provincial law and school board policies:  providing a safe and welcoming learning environment  ensuring the curriculum is being delivered and assessed appropriately  maintaining relationships with various stakeholders  ensuring resources are effectively delegated among students and programs  implementing the professional development activities of the staff

MY ROLE  Principals are commonly referred to as instructional leaders – that means we assist teachers with planning, implementing and assessing the curriculum (what your child is learning)  There are also many managerial and operational aspects of my job that contribute to student achievement such as discipline, attendance, parent communication and timetabling  As the school’s lead learner, I work with staff to build and sustain a positive learning environment

IF YOU HAVE A QUESTION  If you have a question related to your child (well-being, curriculum, achievement, behaviour, classroom issues) your first contact should be with the teacher  If your concerns escalate or are unresolved, you can then contact the appropriate Vice-principal or myself  If you have a school-based question (bus, playground, parking lot, class placement) you should contact me  I can be contacted by phone, or by making a meeting request)

MANY HATS  In my role, I wear many hats, but there are limits  While I am not a doctor or nurse, a police officer, a social worker, a day care supervisor or a mental health professional, as the lead learner I help students in many ways  Our staff may deal with many of the people noted above, and more, in our role, if a student needs assistance beyond our realm of expertise or beyond what the school can directly provide

 Principals have training in Emergency Response, Health and Safety, WHIMIS, Threat and Risk Assessment and BMS  Principals are experts in assessment and evaluation, curriculum development, instruction and differentiation  Principals communicate daily with students, teachers, support staff, parents and community members  Principals manage assessment and data to develop and implement the School Improvement Plan MANY HATS

COMMON Q’S  Split grades  Too many kids in a class  Homework  Discipline  Teacher assignment  Spec Ed resources  Bullying  Course offerings  Sports/clubs offered by the school  EQAO scores

WHAT I WANT YOU TO KNOW  My job is very complex and requires open communication among the school community  Every day, there are a number of decisions that have to be made, and our response is based on what is best for the entire school  Sometimes decisions need to be made for individual students, but more often, they have to consider all students  While you look at issues from the perspective of your child, I have to look at issues from the perspective of 375 students, our community and our staff

WHAT I WANT YOU TO KNOW  This work becomes fulfilling when you see the positive impact it has on kids  Our goal everyday is to teach life lessons and the value of hard and determined work  We want to graduate good citizens, not just good students  Discipline is not used as a punitive measure, but to create opportunities to learn and model behaviour that will last a lifetime  We want to teach students the value of doing the right thing as its own reward

WHAT I WANT YOU TO KNOW  Everyday, our focus is on doing what is in the best interest of the kids  We want your child to be happy and successful  We need to work together to make that happen  A positive, respectful working relationship is the best way to achieve that result

OUR SCHOOL  This school belongs to all of us  How can we work together to make it even better?