School councils in Greater Sudbury can now apply for the 2008/09 "Parents Reaching Out" provincial grants to help local parents be more actively engaged in their children’s education.
“We are continuing to help parents become as active as possible in their children’s education. It’s one of the most important ways they can support their children’s success in school and beyond,” said Sudbury MPP Rick Bartolucci, in a release.
Research shows that one of the most important indicators of student success is parental involvement. The province created the grants in 2006 to help reduce some of the barriers parents face. The deadline to apply for Parents Reaching Out grants is October 24, 2008.
Last year, the Ministry of Education funded 1,300 projects that helped involve parents in their children’s education and their school. Projects funded included workshops on topics like bullying prevention, and literacy and numeracy.
Funds were also used to purchase resource materials that parents could access through the school library and to translate information for parents, such as newsletters and school handbooks.
Other elements of the ministry’s parent engagement strategy include:
ABC123 – a website that gives parents tips in 13 languages on how to help their child with homework, reading, writing and math.
Parenting and Family Literacy centres across Ontario – expanded from 89 to 123 centres in 2008-09.
The Provincial Parent Board – created to monitor and advise the minister on parent involvement.
“Children do better in school when their parents are engaged in their learning. This helps students grow into more successful adults, and that can only translate into positive news for our community," said Bartolucci.
