Parent Engagement is Important to Student Success

tool kit
At the Council of Ontario Directors of Education (CODE) it is our goal to offer resources that will help families as they guide their children in learning skills that are essential for success at school and throughout life.
CODE has produced a series of resources with input from parents across Ontario. We invite you to scroll down the page and read a short description of these resources then follow a link to learn more and access the resources for any or all of the topics that have been covered to date.

Parent Tool Kit
What parents can do to help their child succeed in school


activities

This Tool Kit is for parents of Junior Kindergarten to Grade 12 students. Research shows that learning at home is one of the most beneficial ways to help your child succeed. The Tool Kit is intended to support parents as you help your children at home, and includes ideas and tips in the following areas:

  • BE A COACH: includes specific suggestions for providing at-home help for success at school
  • BE A MENTOR: includes suggestions for helping with homework and the supportive role parents can play
  • BE AN ADVOCATE: deals with parent-school communication and ideas for helping students present themselves well
  • STAY INFORMED: deals with reinforcing classroom learning at home
  • FITTING IT ALL IN: provides tips to help with at-home organization that supports success at school
  • THE TEENAGE YEARS: focuses on talking to your secondary school student about school and provides tips for raising responsible digital citizens

Many of the activities used in the Parent Tool Kit and Guidebook are based on the research of Dr. Joyce Epstein and her work with the National Network of Partnership Schools.

Parent Toolkit - Additional Resources

Ontario Ministry of Education

http://gov.edu.on.ca

You can find information about:
What your child should learn each year
The location of parent and family literacy centres


Tips to help your child develop math, reading and writing skills
http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/abc123


Homework help hotlines
http://homeworkhelp.ilc.org


Tutoring online at the Independent Learning Centre
http://www.ilc.org


Special Education Support
http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/parents/speced.html


Secondary Student Success program
http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/studentsuccess/index.html


TVOParents

http://tvo.org/topic/parents-education

TVO parents is an online resource for parents of preschool and school aged children and features a live weekly interactive parenting event.

OERB Ontario Education Resource Bank

http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/elearning/bank.html

Ontario Education Resource Bank is an online library of activities and resource materials for students of all grades. Students can participate in online exercises and activities that they can do at home to reinforce learning. Parents can assist their children using the Ontario Education Resource Bank by using their student's account. Please ask your school for the login information, if your child has not already brought it home.

Discovery Education Science Fair Central

http://school.discoveryeducation.com/sciencefaircentral/ Parent-Resources.html

Discovery Education has a large number of educational resources. A section of their website concentrates on Science Fair Tips and Tricks such as "presentation do's and don'ts; student checklist; shopping list and how to deliver an oral presentation". Parents and students can find advice from "how help their child come up with an idea for the project" to "setting a timeline".

Creating E-Portfolios

http://middleschoolblog.blogspot.com/2009/09/eportfolio-talk-with-grade-9-learners.html

Especially good for secondary school students. This short video outlines the use of an e-portfolio and how to create one.

Digital Story Telling

http://digitalstorytelling.coe.uh.edu/index.html

This website explains the use of digital storytelling and how a variety of images, text, video and more can be used to create digital stories. You will find examples, definitions and explanatory videos.


Helpful tools for creating digital stories:
Windows Movie Maker, Photostory and iMovie (Mac users) can be used to create video.

Voice Thread http://voicethread.com for storage and hosting of slides, images and videos with the capability of leaving a text, voice or video comment. Aviary http://aviary.com is a free suite of online creation tools.

Public Speaking

http://digitalstorytelling.coe.uh.edu/index.html

Tips on public speaking for kids. This site gives suggestions for how to practise their skills for speaking in public and overcome the fear of public speaking.

Internet Safety

http://www.media-awareness.ca

In this website you will find resources and support for everyone interested in media literacy and digital literacy for young people. "Be Web Aware" covers subjects such as homework online, internet safety, social networking (Facebook), instant messaging and cell phone usage.

Eat Well and Stay Active

https://www.eatrightontario.ca

The EatRight Ontario website is set up to help you improve your health and quality of life through healthy eating. This service provides easy-to- use nutrition information to help you make healthier food choices. You can contact a dietician directly by email or toll free phone call.


http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/healthyschools/links.html

Healthy schools offers tips and tools for parents to help keep your child healthy and active.

Online Learning

http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/elearning/courses.html

School Boards across Ontario offer a variety of online learning courses for secondary students. Students can find course offerings for the school year. The delivery of online learning includes a wide range of activities such as chat, threaded discussion, blogs, whiteboards, quizzes, and student tracking. Consult with your school board for access to online learning courses and requirements.

Kids Help Phone

http://kidshelpphone.ca

Kids Help Phone is Canada's leading youth counselling service. Available anytime of the day or night by phone and by web, it is the go-to resource for kids in Canada from years five to 20 when they need help or trustworthy information. Designed for both teens and younger children the activities cover a wide range of topics. Moderated discussion forums let students publish their thoughts on the web.

 x


Go to the top of the page

Your Questions and Comments

CODE invites parents to send your questions and comments to us.

Click here to submit your questions or ideas.

Thank you for your commitment to parent engagement in your school community!


Go to the top of the page
pe2 pe3 pe4 pe5