2017 Parent Engagement Workshop – Cairns
In 2017 Cairns Catholic Education, in partnership with the diocesan and state P&Fs hosted a Parent Engagement Workshop which brought together parents and school staff to talk about how to engage families in their children’s education.
This series of videos provides some of the presentations from the workshop. They are ideal for furthering these discussions in school communities.
- Both strategic and hands-on – St Therese’s School, Bentley Park
Principal David Adams-Jones and parent and P&F representative Lisa Chirio talk about how teachers and parents are working together to be more strategic about parent engagement – everything from a weekly tip in the newsletter to a friendly greeting in ...
Read more... - The Year of the Unicorn! – Holy Cross School, Trinity Park
Principal Sarah Hamilton introduces a process for involving parents to help develop the Holy Cross Way, a guiding document that defines the school’s values. The discussion might even evolve towards a men’s shed to involve Dads in the life of ...
Read more... - Elders in Residence – Mount St Bernard College, Herberton
Transitions officer Flo Cornish talks about a program that encourages remote First Nations families to stay at the college for short periods, make contact with their children and enrich college programs. Flo also discusses the use of technology to keep ...
Read more... - Real time interaction with parents – St Joseph’s School, Parramatta Park
Principal Gavin Rick and teacher Kerry Yelavich discuss how new ICT applications allow schools and students to communicate with parents in real time, providing insights for parents and the means for continuing discussions at home.
Read more... - Literacy with parents – St Monica’s College
College Principal Edna Galvin talks about the college’s STAR program to engage parents in a new literacy program that is targeting both extension students and those that need some extra support.
Read more... - Debbie Pushor (3)
How do we more from random to systematic acts of parent engagement? We need to challenge our assumptions, create welcoming environments for families, build trust and relationships, re-think what we do, and engage in systematic professional development.
Read more... - Debbie Pushor (2)
Debbie reflects on the local parent engagement practices emerging in Cairns schools and provides some further examples from her native Canada and elsewhere.
Read more... - Debbie Pushor (1)
Our keynote speaker, Canadian Professor Debbie Pushor introduces the concepts of parent engagement and the way in which both parent and teacher knowledge can work together to improve educational outcomes. She points out that only parents have parent knowledge and ...
Read more... - The context of the Catholic school – the unique role of parents
Vicar for Education Fr Neil Muir talks about the role of parents in the teachings of the Catholic Church and how parents have a special place in the life of the Catholic school. This video provides a Catholic faith context ...
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Parent Engagement in Action
- Parent Engagement in Action
The Parent Engagement in Action resource was developed by Catholic Education Melbourne to guide school leaders through a process of reflection and evaluation focusing on parental engagement across four key focus areas: Relationships, Learning, Leadership and Reflection. It is designed to ...
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Parent Engagement Posters
This series of posters developed by Catholic Education can be used as a resource for discussion at staff meetings and professional development sessions, P & F and school board meetings. Also for school websites, newsletters and noticeboards. They provide a graphic springboard for useful discussions.
- Relationships Are The Key To Learning
- Outward Facing Schools
- Part of the Main Game
- Where Young People Learn
- Partnerships Continuum
- Parent Teacher Interviews
- Parent Engagement in Learning
- Learning at Home
- Language of Learning
- 6 Types of Involvement
- General 10 Things
- Family School Partnerships Statement
Community Conversations
- Community Conversations
This seven minute film looks at a structured but informal process that can be adapted by schools to stimulate ongoing parent engagement – why parent engagement matters and how it can be organised to be an ongoing part of the school’s ...
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Thoughts on building successful parent partnerships
- Anne Henderson – Successful Partnerships
This 20 minute video of Anne Henderson from the Annenberg Institute for School Reform, Washington DC, discusses parent engagement with a group of Catholic educators and parents in Melbourne. While the evidence in favour of parent engagement is compelling, many ...
Read more... - Dr Debbie Pushor – Engaging parents in our school communities
Are our schools a welcoming place for parents? What can be done to integrate school learning with learning in a home environment? Canadian educator Dr Debbie Pushor discusses the changing role of parents in school communities. 19:53 minutes
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Further Reading
- QCT Research Digest 2014-10
This research digest, undertaken by the Australian Council for Educational Research on behalf of the Queensland college of Teachers, provides a very useful review on parent engagement. It looks at: – Why parental engagement is important – Key features of effective collaborators – ...
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