Parental involvement at school often means attending parent teacher evenings or a few devoted mums and dads helping out in the school canteen and, occasionally, the classroom.
That is not the case at Baldivis Secondary College. Here, parents are eager to be part of their child’s learning journey. In July, earlier this year, Baldivis Secondary College hosted a fully immersive AVID professional learning workshop for over 70 parents.
Keith Svendsen, the College Principal, explains that since the introduction of AVID, the school has been able shift a significant proportion of students receiving D and E grades to C grades across the curriculum. He believes this improvement has made parents eager to get involved and further their understanding of the program.
“We were very pleased to see that a sizeable proportion of our parent community registered for this workshop. I think this focus on family engagement and further in-home support will help us to achieve our next target to increase the numbers of students receiving B and A grades.”
Director of AVID Australia, Claire Brown, says that the AVID strategies that informed the workshop are based on decades of education research and evidence.
“The research on parental involvement is clear: students achieve better when their parents are positively involved in their schooling,” explained Claire.
“When parents attend a workshop like this they are demonstrating to their children the importance they attach to schooling – both their academic achievement and social and emotional wellbeing. Students can see that their parents are actively committed to supporting them to achieve their potential in school and beyond.
“AVID helps schools to build a culture of academic achievement while simultaneously providing social and emotional support through the sometimes challenging adolescent years. These can be difficult times for parents and children alike. Extending a supportive, positive culture to a student’s home environment is a powerful motivator.”
Channel 7 visited Baldivis Secondary College to capture the workshop for parents. Watch it now.
