Bringing people together for learning, discussion and networking is important because sometimes hearing what others are doing gives us new ideas, fresh perspectives and the networks of people we need to do our best work.

School Council members from throughout the division attended a session at the NGPS division office this week to do just that.

Facilitated by the Alberta School Councils Association, the session focused on enhancing school council effectiveness and parent engagement through three workshops: Purpose of a School Council, Productive Meetings and Tools for Effective School Councils.

As a group, the 31 members reviewed pertinent parts of the School Act and the differences between a school council and a parent fundraising association. They asked questions, shared strategies, discussed how to get parents to attend meetings and heard from a school principal who shared her experience with the culture and climate of her school council.

Superintendent of Schools, Kevin Andrea, announced at the workshop that the NGPS Board of Trustees would be supporting five registrations per year, for the next three years, for Northern Gateway school council members to attend the provincial School Councils Conference and Annual General Meeting. Schools attending will rotate annually so that council members from each of our schools will have the opportunity to attend.

The conference promotes parent engagement in public education and provides development sessions, information sharing and resources for the school community, as well as the opportunity to engage with the Ministry of Education and network with school council members from across Alberta.

A Family of School Councils