Supporting Student Success

About this handbook

BC public schools and school districts are learning communities, places where students, parents, educators, support staff, and community members respect and support each other’s roles, and share in the responsibility for student learning. A students’ success in the public school depends on the relationships among all the education partners and the involvement of parents. Parents play an important role and have the right and the responsibility to be involved in their children’s education. These rights co-exist with the rights and responsibilities of the people who work in schools and school districts. In 1996, the handbook Building Partnerships in Schools helped parents with their first formal advisory role in their schools, giving parents information about the legislation, policy and practice that helped them in their interactions with others in the system. It also gave educators and parents a starting point to work together to improve parents’ access to the system. Todays version, uses and expands on information from the first handbook. It is not meant to create new policy, suggest how parent involvement should happen, or replace the roles of the legislature, ministry, or school boards. This handbook intends to help parents and parent leaders understand the roles and responsibilities in the public education system and the different ways parents can be involved in their children’s learning. It includes information about:

• Parent involvement in public education,
• Roles and responsibilities of the partners involved in public education,
• Coming together in the best interest of students,
• Parent and community partnerships in BC’s schools and districts
• Governance and legislation.

This hanbook is also useful to other education partners, as they continue their collaboration with parents to create positive learning communities where parents are actively and effectively involved at all levels to support students’ learning.