With the help of its Parent Council Chestermere High School is looking to increase the ways, in which, parents become involved in the school. Traditionally the amount of direct parental involvement in any school in Alberta decreases with the age of the student. Alberta Education Accountability Pillar Reports shows that provincially, the highest levels of involvement by parents occurs in elementary and middle years, while dropping off in the high school years. “Parental involvement can mean a wide array of things from ensuring that students have all of the necessary supports from home to be successful at school, to supporting students in all of their academic, athletic, and fine arts pursuits, to volunteering within the school building itself,” commented Jordan Fenton, Principal of Chestermere High, “we are always appreciative of the support that we get from our parent community and we are excited about working with our Parent Council in finding new ways to involve our stakeholders and community members, in our students’ educational experiences.”
CHS Parent Council held a brainstorming session as part of the regular meeting in January seeking priority areas for parental involvement. With Chestermere High School serving students from a wide geographic region that includes multiple communities the idea of creating a “Skills Bank” of parents and community members that could provide support to curricular, co-curricular, and extra-curricular student activities came forward. School staff would be encouraged to partner with parents and community members from the skills bank to create supportive authentic experiences to enhance student learning. For example, a parent who writes for the local paper may be invited to share journalism techniques with a creative writing class.
“We are pleased with the support that we get from our parents and community but would always encourage and accept more involvement,” added Fenton. If you would like more information or would like to become involved in supporting students at CHS please feel free to contact Jordan Fenton at the high school or attend their Spring Open House in the evening of March 10.
