It’s a research-backed fact that parent involvement in school benefits students. When students see the entire school community working together to help them achieve their personal best, they achieve more, set higher aspirations, and feel more positive about school overall.
At Trafalgar Castle School, a day and boarding school for girls in grades 4 through 12 in Whitby, Ont., parent involvement is integral to its school culture. Every parent and guardian is a member of the Parents’ Guild, affectionately known as PG. It’s a group of dedicated parent volunteers who engage and support the entire school community, from students and families to teachers and staff. The Parents’ Guild collaborates with teachers and administrators, helps organize events, raises funds, provides feedback and suggestions for the school and more. They also organize fun parent-only evenings out or morning coffee sessions to support and engage with each other. Within the Parents’ Guild is the Executive Committee, voting members acting as a steering committee on behalf of the parents, whose primary goal is to support the broader school community, ultimately benefiting the students.
“The Parents’ Guild aims to support the school’s teachers, staff and overall strategic direction,” says Jennifer Parish, President of the Parents’ Guild, “Trafalgar Castle School goes above and beyond to make our students’ learning experiences incredible and so as parents, we’re happy to help them in this endeavour.”
“The Parents’ Guild also helps to create a strong partnership between parents, teachers and the school for the benefit of their children,” adds Kay Di Vizio, a Trafalgar parent and member of the Parents’ Guild, “We strengthen ties between the school and families and keep parents informed on school matters.”
Fundraising is one of the key components of the Parents’ Guild involvement. This fundraising supports the students’ overall education experience by assisting with extracurricular activities, purchasing or enhancing educational resources or funding special school initiatives. These fundraising efforts include the sale of unique school hoodies or special school spirit merchandise, silent auctions during school events, and customized floral bouquets for special occasions like graduation or school productions. The Parents’ Guild also offers “Hugs” — specialized student gift packages available for purchase at select times or milestones during the school year. All funds raised go back to the school, and for students (especially boarding students attending school away from home), it’s a warm “hug” that brightens their school day.
Over the summer, the PG’s Executive Committee collaborated to formalize the guiding principles for fundraising efforts and how funds raised are distributed to the school. Those discussions sparked an idea: why not provide an opportunity for faculty and staff to share directly with the PG where they felt some of the funds could be best utilized to enhance the school and the students’ educational experience?
That thought morphed into the PG Enrichment Fund, which aims to directly enhance the learning experiences of Trafalgar Castle School students by supporting innovative projects and learning initiatives that drive student success (whether academic or co-curricular), expand and implement tech-forward learning, and advance equity and inclusion in academic and co-curricular programs.
Through the PG’s fundraising efforts, supported directly by families at Trafalgar Castle School, the committee launched the PG Enrichment Fund in the Fall. Teachers and staff were invited to apply for the grant with ideas for enriching the learning experience for students at Trafalgar Castle School. These ideas had to meet rigorous criteria, specifically the impact on student success, alignment with educational goals, feasibility and sustainability, innovation and creativity, and equity and inclusivity.
The PG donated a total of $6000 in grants to initiatives ranging from experiential learning workshops with leaders in music, theatre, and art to STEM robotic equipment investments for middle school students, advancing the promotion of inclusivity for students and allies of the LGBTQ+ community, enhancing facilities for boarding students, and integrating new multi-sports equipment for school athletics.
These grants will go a long way in enhancing the educational experience of Trafalgar’s students, enriching the school culture, and strengthening the relationship between parents and teachers. The Enrichment Fund is just one of many plans the PG has in store, some of which are centred on parental engagement with the school.
“The Parents’ Guild is always trying new things. In addition to our tried-and-true initiatives, we’ll be focusing on more opportunities for families to get engaged and volunteer outside of fundraising initiatives,” Parish says, “We’re looking to grow the team of parents who help with events and fundraising through a variety of sub-committees.” Parish goes on to say that this growth of parental engagement will allow for more integration between the school and each other.
“Parental involvement models the importance of community engagement for students,” Di Vizio adds, “When parents are actively involved, it contributes to creating a more positive, collaborative school culture, which benefits students academically and socially.”
Parish agrees. “It’s a wonderful way to show and share your support of the student, the school and the overall community.”