Parent inclusion activities in Ontario: A snapshot of current activities

People for Education, 2006.

Parents provide a link between the education and childcare systems and the children who are the focus of the systems. What parents need and want is policy and mechanisms that support their ability to be effective partners in their children’s education.

In Ontario, parent involvement became an important component of education reform when school councils were established in 1996 and then mandated in 2000.  In December, 2005 the Minister of Education announced a new provincial policy to support parents’ involvement in their children’s education. The policy is partly based on recommendations from the Parent Voice in Education Project and is intended to create a more welcoming environment for parents in the education system.

This snapshot of existing programs and policies to promote more inclusive parent involvement is organized to reflect six forms of parent involvement: parenting, communicating, volunteering, learning at home, decision-making, collaborating with the community.