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New Research Supports a Strong Focus on
Volunteerism By Gord Kerr New
research on school councils indicates that there is a link between a council and
principal focused on stimulating parental involvement and the rates of parental
participation in various types of involvement.
For those involved in the council system for many years, this provides
the research-based evidence that school councils have an ability to make a
positive contribution to student achievement, through a focus on stimulating
parental involvement. The research report provides four recommendations for site leaders, principals and vice-principals, teachers, school council leaders and for those who manage school volunteers. The report provides a set of
recommendations that are complementary to the Parent Voice in Education report,
providing local school and school council leaders with some guidance on
‘how’ to further stimulate parent and community involvement in education.
The focus of the Parent Voice in Education Project report recommendations
highlighted the support and leadership required from at the Ministry level, with
some of the structural elements that the group felt necessary to sustain a
provincial focus on parental and community involvement. One of the recommendations contained
within this new report is to ensure that that we are providing good, quality
leadership and management for volunteers within our schools, as volunteering is
one form of helpful parental involvement. The core purpose for school volunteer
programs is to enhance the capacity of our schools to support student learning.
Within our schools, there are already a host of opportunities and
creative programs designed to create a welcoming and informative atmosphere to
encourage volunteerism. Encouraging volunteerism through
effective volunteer management Effective volunteer management begins
with an understanding that volunteers are people with many things competing for
their time and attention. In
addition to the workload associated with managing a household, and raising a
family, there are plenty of other community groups seeking volunteers at any
moment in time. Schools have an
advantage over these other organizations in attracting the attention of
volunteers as parents with children in the school have a vested interest in
seeing the school run well and in seeing students receive the classroom or
library support, field trip support, events or other support necessary to help
their children learn. However,
sometimes that advantage leads to a belief that parents ‘owe’ the school
their volunteer time and effort. When
a feeling of entitlement sets in, or parents are made to feel guilty for not
giving enough of their time, some people respond by withdrawing their time and
talents. Effective volunteer
leadership and management is necessary to avoid this kind of thing from
happening and to ensure that a healthy environment is maintained to foster
volunteerism. Recognizing that there are many viable
approaches for providing quality leadership and management for volunteers, this
article focuses on the guidance provided within the Canadian Code for Volunteer
Involvement, a code developed in Canada in 2001, during the International Year
of the Volunteer. Resources can be
accessed at www.volunteer.ca.
Chances are, your school or school board already supports many elements
of the Code. Chances are, there may
be an idea or two contained within this Code that might offer your school the
opportunity to improve the way in which it supports the efforts of volunteers. Here is the First Guiding Principle for Volunteer Involvement, “Volunteer organizations recognize that volunteers are a vital human resource and will commit to the appropriate infrastructure to support volunteers. The organization’s practices ensure effective volunteer involvement. The organization commits to providing a safe a supportive environment for volunteers.” The Second Guiding Principle is, “Volunteers make a commitment and are accountable to the organization.” The Code also contains ten Organizational Standards for Volunteer Involvement. These are the elements that deal directly with the effective management of volunteers. They are:
If we added up all the school volunteers that provide support within our schools, Ontario’s education system may be one of the largest employers of volunteer services in the province. Some schools, in some areas have dedicated volunteer coordinators, while others do not. If yours is one that does not have a coordinator, consider creating a leadership team comprised of both staff and parents to guide the further development of the volunteer programs. Consider filling the Community Representative position with someone experienced in volunteer management. Also, if it’s not happening already, consider holding volunteer meetings separately from the school council meetings. There are many volunteers who are quite happy to volunteer their time and talents to work directly with students, but who do not wish to attend school council meetings. Two clear outcomes flow from a strong
volunteer program. Students benefit
directly from the additional resources in the school. Volunteers become more knowledgeable about how best to
provide support for students which, in turn, further benefits their own children
and other students within the school. If
you get a chance, thank a volunteer today! The Canadian Code for Volunteer
Involvement can be accessed at www.volunteer.ca. Gord Kerr was one of 20 parents that served on the Parent Voice in Education Project. He continues to research practical methods for advancing parental involvement and improving the effectiveness of Ontario’s school council system. For more information, please visit www.schoolcouncils.net. © 2005 Ontario School Council Support Centre. |
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Send mail to
gkerr@schoolcouncils.net with questions or comments about this web site.
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