Parent Advocacy

I had the pleasure last night of attending an excellent workshop sponsored by our District Parent Advisory Council (COPACS) and hosted by BCCPAC advocacy leaders Cathy Bedard and Janet Phillips. About 50 people enjoyed a well hosted evening. With parents, teachers, administrators, community partners, trustees and friends from neighbouring districts in attendance it was good to see more evidence of our vibrant and extensive partnerships in Saanich. We were reminded that true and solution-focused advocacy for children and families is based in strong relationships and clarity around rights, information, voice and inclusion. We also talked about how barriers can so easily come up through lack of common understanding of the issues, the pathways to resolution of concerns and the degree of urgency to the parent. If we misfire on any of those, conflict can so easily arise.

We talked about barriers last night, about what prevents good communication, advocacy and collaborative problem-solving. I am equally interested in what it looks like when it is working. So . . . my question: What does advocacy look like at its best, and what do we in the system have to do to ensure that parents are genuinely invited into problem-resolution conversations and processes when something isn't working?