“What is the most underused resource in education today? Parents.” — Lauren Tripp Burlis
The PPS-PC PEP Academy creates an opportunity for parents and community members to participate in workshops covering a variety of topics. PEP Academy workshops help parents learn and understand how they can be a resource in education today. The next PEP Academy workshop is in November and the topic is Involvement vs. Engagement. During the 2023 PPS-PC Community Conversations participants were invited to define in their own words what is parent involvement and what is parent engagement. During those conversations 54 people provided a response defining in their own words a definition for those terms. A reflection on the responses to the question revealed that it was difficult for participants to define a clear difference for the two terms. The way that one individual defined involvement another individual defined engagement in a similar way using similar terms. There is a distinct difference between parent involvement and parent engagement. The Involvement vs. Engagement Workshop will help participants to more clearly understand what those differences are and why it matters.
Involvement includes “doing to” whereas engagement includes “doing with”. In a school setting, parent involvement is often school directed tasks. An intentional shift from involvement to engagement cultivates partnerships and shared decision making between schools and parents. During the workshop participants will learn how to use leadership skills to develop and propose plans to address challenges and obstacles.
Why is parent engagement with schools important? The engagement of families in their children’s education improves school readiness, student outcomes and graduation rates. The more that families speak out for children and support their progress, the better their children do. Parent engagement not only supports their children but all children and staff. Public schools are faced with a variety of challenges. Engaged parents have the opportunity to be a part of the solution to address many of those challenges. As a part of the workshop participants will have the opportunity to reflect on next steps individually and collectively to deepen parent engagement.
