AERR: Parent and caregiver engagement
Priority 3: Enhance Public Education Through Effective Engagement
Goal 1: Parent and Caregiver Engagement
Outcome: Student learning is supported and enhanced by providing meaningful opportunities for parents and caregivers to be involved in their child's education
Alberta Education's Assurance Domain: Governance
Provincial Outcome: Alberta's K-12 education system is well-governed and managed
Performance Measures
- 78% of parents and teachers are satisfied with parental involvement in decisions about their child's education.
- 83% of families are satisfied with the opportunity to be involved in decisions at their child’s school.
- 81% of families agree there is open and honest communication within their child’s school.
- 86% of families agree the school keeps them informed about their child’s progress and achievement.
- 70% of families agree the Division’s committed to engaging families in matters that affect public education.
- 95% of families, staff, Grade 12 students and community members are confident EIPS provides meaningful opportunities for families to be involved in their child’s education.
Additional Information:
AERR: Engagement (see pg. 74-78)
EIPS Engagement: Active
EIPS Assurance Framework and Cycle
Results
According to the 2023-24 Alberta Education Assurance (AEA) survey data, 78% of EIPS families and teachers are satisfied with the Division’s parental involvement—which aligns with the 2022-23 result and up from 77% in 2021-22. The result also aligns nicely with the 2023-24 EIPS Annual Feedback Survey. In total, 83% of families indicate being satisfied with the opportunity to be involved in decisions at their child’s school—up by 1% from the year previous and 9% from 2021-22. Another 94% of families, staff and students are confident EIPS provides meaningful opportunities for parents and caregivers to be involved in their child’s education—rising by close to 5% from the previous year and almost 10% in 2021-22.
Other feedback includes 81% of families reporting open and honest communication within their child’s school. Another 86% of families feel EIPS schools keep families informed about their child’s progress and achievement. Collectively, these results infer EIPS families are content with their school involvement and communication.
That said, more can be done, especially in the area of engagement. The 2023-24 EIPS Annual Feedback Survey revealed only 70% of respondents were satisfied with the Division’s commitment to engaging families in matters that affect public education, and only 68% were satisfied with the Division’s commitment to ongoing advocacy for public education. The percentages are fairly consistent year over year, since the pandemic. So, the Division plans to develop strategies to improve in these two areas going forward.
early learning
Regular communication with new school families is an ongoing focus area for the Division. The Play and Learn at School (PALS) program is a good example. The program relies on family collaboration and working jointly to benefit children. In 2023-24, more than 30 PALS engagement sessions were hosted by speech-language pathologists, occupational therapists and early learning consultants. The sessions focused on 11 topic areas, all aimed at supporting young learners. PALS occupational therapists also facilitated individual family consultations and an early learning team that provided multiple virtual sessions to support families in learning new strategies to enhance toileting, feeding, fine-motor development and self-regulation.
Additionally, schools held orientation sessions for PALS and kindergarten families. For PALS, individual orientation sessions were offered, which included discussions about the child’s interests and strengths, specific needs, parental hopes and goals, communication protocols, transportation arrangements and the first day of school. PALS families also had the opportunity to share information about their child through a survey sent out before school startup.
At the kindergarten level, every EIPS elementary school hosted a Kindergarten Information Night. Families had the opportunity to meet staff, tour the school, explore a typical kindergarten day and learn about play-based learning. To complement these, EIPS Early Learning distributed a kindergarten questionnaire to incoming families to build the school-and-home relationship—integral to each child’s success. The questionnaire was also used to develop Getting Ready for Kindergarten, a series of divisionwide kindergarten orientation sessions hosted annually in June. The Getting Ready for Kindergarten sessions focused on fun ways to work on four key development areas—building independence, speech development, fine-motor skills and literacy.
Other engagement efforts included the Circle of Security Parenting program, Individualized Program Plan consultations, Kindergarten Information Nights and a series of early learning emails for families to share information and collect feedback. Collectively, these enabled EIPS to gain a deeper understanding of the needs of early learners and how to support them best.
mental health and well-being
In terms of mental health, EIPS produced two information videos for families—as part of its Mental Health Strategic Plan. Video 1 focused on school attendance. Video 2 delved into the importance of mental health. Supports for Students also hosted three education sessions on brain development and brain architecture—two in Sherwood Park and one in Fort Saskatchewan. Post-session, the feedback from attendees was all positive, and all reported feeling more informed about how the central nervous system controls thought, movement and emotion.
To complement the information session, the Division worked hard promoting the Caregiver Education Series, hosted by Recovery Alberta. Sessions were all free and focused on student mental health—geared toward parents, caregivers, teachers and community members. Session topics included anxiety, ADHD, depression, self-harm, technology, teens and teaching leadership skills, communication, resiliency, and more.
EIPS also continued to offer the Circle of Security Parenting, an attachment-based parenting education program to help families better understand and build on their relationships with their children. Through an eight-part learning series, caregivers explored the different ways children express attachment and how life experiences can impact how others respond to children—in positive and negative ways. Early Learning also partnered with Strathcona County’s Mental Health Capacity Building department to offer a caregivers learning series called, Preparing for Kindergarten. Through the learning series, caregivers learned new tools to help children navigate emotions and feelings common when starting school.
Other initiatives included teaming up with Strathcona County’s Family and Community Support Services to deliver a 90-minute workshop on the risks of school avoidance—exploring the cycle of anxiety, school attendance data, and how-to tips to deal with feelings of worry and fear. EIPS plans to repeat the workshop in fall 2024.
First Nations, Métis and Inuit education
The EIPS First Nations, Métis and Inuit Education team continued offering its Indigenous family gatherings—three in-person gatherings were offered in 2023-24. Each was facilitated by the EIPS First Nations, Métis and Inuit Education team. The gatherings provided space, supper and cultural activities for participants, such as beading and art. It also gave attendees a chance to connect with other families, build community, share hopes and discuss truth-telling and reconciliation within EIPS. The topics discussions also helped inform next steps for the First Nations, Métis and Inuit Education team.
Other initiatives included a Round Dance at F.R. Haythorne Junior High, a 13-week Michif language class and a Métis kitchen party—boasting more than 140 attendees who enjoyed dinner, fiddle music and dance—sash dancing and the Red River jig. The EIPS First Nations, Métis and Inuit Education team also facilitated ribbon-skirt and ribbon-shirt workshops—open to grades 9 to 12 students. Each participant brought a support person to help make the ribbon skirt or shirt. A special thanks to Knowledge Keeper Natalie Pepin, Lloyd Cardinal, Taryn Donald and Danielle Booker for leading the workshops.
In terms of communication, the team published newsletters and online blogs to share relevant news and initiatives with families. For events, the team co-ordinated an Indigenous Cultural Seasonal Camp for lead teachers, in partnership with Strathcona Wilderness Centre and community-based Elders and Knowledge Holders. It also hosted a divisionwide round dance to help elicit a sense of community, cultural pride and belonging. There was also substantial work put into fostering meaningful relationships with local Indigenous community members and a relationship with the land, or “being in relation.”
career pathways
Once again, in 2023-24, EIPS hosted its ever-popular Your Future: Post-secondary and Career Fair—an annual event open to students in grades 9 through 12. Held in the fall, the fair invited universities, colleges, polytechnics and industry experts together, all in one room. There, students and their families had the opportunity to engage with some of Alberta’s leading post-secondary institutions and employers, pose questions, consult with experts and gain insights into future career trends. In total, the event attracted more than 500 attendees.
To complement Your Future, EIPS’ Career Pathways department also arranged post-secondary fairs at the senior high schools and supported three senior high in hosting career fairs on a smaller scale—held at the school during the school day. Both events were well-attended, the feedback was positive, and helped engage students in preparing for life beyond senior high.
Along with the fairs, EIPS hosted a series of Off- Campus Information Evenings for families and the local community to learn more about the Division’s Registered Apprenticeship Program, the green certificate programming and work experience courses. The sessions, held both in-person and virtually, provided comprehensive insights into career pathways programming and featured a well-received question-and-answer segment with EIPS program specialists.
engaging families
In winter 2024, all EIPS schools consulted families about school fees for the upcoming year. Principals outlined the current school fees—used for courses, noon supervision, educational activities and extracurricular initiatives. Families were then asked to provide input about the fees and expectations for the following year. Using that feedback, and EIPS’ Board-approved fee parameters, principals developed their school fee schedules for the 2024-25 school year. Once finalized, each school followed up with families to review and go over the upcoming fee schedule.
Roughly, around the same time as the fee consultations, the Division conducted its annual EIPS Budget Survey to gather information from stakeholders on what priorities the EIPS Board should consider when planning for the upcoming year. In total, 1,491 respondents provided input, which the Board used to develop the 2024-25 EIPS budget. Then, in March, the Division consulted staff, students and families again through its EIPS Annual Feedback Survey—an online stakeholder survey distributed to school families, staff and students in grades 9 and 12. In total, 4,874 respondents completed the survey.
Annually, the Division uses the feedback from the survey to gauge its progress toward meeting the goals and priorities outlined in its Four-Year Education Plan. Parents and caregivers are asked a series of questions about their experiences with EIPS and the school their child attends, the quality of education provided, improvement areas and their confidence in EIPS’ strategic direction. Collectively, the Division uses the survey feedback to help guide future planning, decision-making and strategies—all aimed at enhancing student learning and better serving the wider community.
Other engagement efforts included public consultations to build support for a new collegiate-style junior-senior high replacement school in Fort Saskatchewan. After an exhaustive engagement process, the Division finalized its Three-Year Engagement Plan, deciding to relocate its senior high French Immersion program to Salisbury Composite High, and adjust Strathcona County’s senior high attendance boundaries for Lakeland Ridge to Bev Facey Community High—both effective in 2026-27. It also adjusted the French Immersion junior high attendance boundaries for Cambrian Crossing. All decisions aligned with feedback heard and was sustainable into the future.
As well, the Division sent regular school communication and monthly newsletters—used to inform students and families about what’s taking place within the school and Division. News releases (58) further enhanced communication by informing families about recent successes, decisions and challenges within the Division. Plus, EIPS schools used social media platforms as another way to connect with families.
Lastly, each EIPS school council was supported through the Division’s Committee of School Councils. School council representatives met regularly with the Board of Trustees and EIPS senior administration. In the 2023-24 school year, the group met seven times to discuss topics impacting the Division and the province’s education system. EIPS was pleased to once again host these meetings in person and virtually—allowing for more robust dialogue.
Some of the agenda topics included the Annual Education Results Report 2022-23, the Division’s Assurance Cycle, the Mental Health Strategic Plan, the EIPS Four- Year Education Plan: 2022-26, the role of school councils, annual reports, new provincial legislation on sexual orientation and gender identity, Administrative Procedure 538, Alberta School Council Engagement Grant, the upcoming budget and how-to tips on reading the Alberta Education Assurance results. Following each meeting, school council representatives shared the discussion topics with their own school council members. In 2023-24, the number of schools represented at each meeting ranged between 15 and 26, totalling a median representation of 18 schools—up by three from the previous year.
Opportunities For Growth
The Division is pleased with the opportunities it provides relative to building capacity and engaging families in their child’s learning. That said, there is room for improvement. As such, parent and caregiver engagement remains a growth area for the Division. Specifically, EIPS will continue to offer information sessions related to mental health, Indigenous education, early learning, attendance and career pathways. The Division’s assurance framework will ensure the Division considers input from school families and community members as part of its decision-making process. As well, schools will continue to encourage school families’ involvement and input at school council meetings, parent-student-teacher interviews, performances, open houses and special events.
Priority Strategy For Education Plan
Fostering even more engagement with EIPS parents and caregivers is an ongoing priority for EIPS. Strategies for the 2025-26 school year include:
- Continue to offer and promote professional learning sessions, information and resources to support families in engaging with their child about health and wellness, early learning, literacy and numeracy development, and planning post-senior high.
- Continue to offer and promote information sessions and resources to support families in preparing their children for kindergarten.
- Continue to offer family engagement sessions—hosted by speech-language pathologists, occupational therapists and early learning consultants—focused on capacity building to support young learners.
- Promote the Division’s and school-based Career Day and Take Our Kids to Work Day.
- Continue all assurance framework efforts and offer opportunities for school families to provide input on divisional decision-making topics.
- Facilitate best practices sessions to identify engagement strategies—elementary, junior high and senior high—so schools can improve two-way communication with school families.
- Offer French Immersion information sessions for school families.
- Continue to engage with EIPS’ Committee of School Councils as a tool for information gathering and input related to Division decision-making.
- Continue public engagement efforts and stakeholder feedback processes to help inform decision-making and ensure students receive high-quality, student-centred education.
- Continue communication efforts with EIPS families about the Division’s progress in meeting the goals and outcomes outlined in the EIPS Four-Year Education Plan: 2022-26.
- Continue to regularly communicate with families and stakeholders about the Board of Trustees’ advocacy plan, why it's important and the activities undertaken related to advancing the advocacy work.
- Continue communicating Division news, information and updates with EIPS families and stakeholders—emails, newsletters, news releases and social media posts.
- Develop a school-family communications platform to combine all Division, school and teacher communications—including absence reporting and digital-form submissions.
- Continue to host annual engagement gatherings with families who self-identify as First Nations, Métis or Inuit. The goal: To build relationships and engage in respectful conversations.
- Continue to build capacity with school council representatives by covering the Alberta School Councils’ Association membership costs and sponsoring registrations for the association’s annual School Councils Conference.
- Prepare online mental health resources for parents and caregivers.
- Continue to offer and promote information sessions related to infrastructure, planning and capital projects to ensure stakeholders are informed, engaged and can advocate on behalf of the Division.