Active Parents, Thriving Communities: The Positive Influence of Parents’ Associations.

Our children spend an average of nearly half the year in school, shaping their academic future and their future in the community. As parents, our active involvement in the decisions made within our schools is paramount. In our minority language communities, this involvement becomes a catalyst for a healthy future across BC.

To do this, an essential tool is at your disposal: the parents’ association (APÉ).

But what is a parents’ association and what is its mandate?

Much more than a group of parents organizing our children’s activities, an APÉ is an important organization required by the Ministry of Education and established in the School Act.

The mandate of the parents’ association is to represent the voice of parents. It is governed by a board composed of elected parents and plays an essential role in the development of the school’s academic life. Any parent of a child in school is automatically a member of the parents’ association of their child’s school.

A parents’ association is called upon to consult all parents and be proactive in bringing ideas, recommendations, and issues on any subject that concerns them to the bodies with which it collaborates closely, including the school administration, school staff, the Conseil scolaire francophone (CSF), as well as the Fédération des parents. The Fédération des parents brings together and represents the APÉs at the provincial level, and their mission is to support and help parent volunteers carry out their APÉs’ mandates.

In addition, a parents’ association actively participates in the CSF’s consultations, during the revision of its policies or in the planning of various projects related to the future of the school. A parents’ association also has the opportunity to be proactive by considering and proposing projects that will have an impact on the future of our communities across the province, while respecting their uniqueness.

Being part of a parents’ association also contributes to the continuity of the parents’ movement, which has made substantial gains over the years in its advocacy for quality Francophone education.

To learn more about the role and mandate of a parents’ association, we invite you to watch this short video:  https://youtu.be/VZUOJOwWjwU?si=AFEK2qi3YSicCvCb

For more details on how a parents’ association works, and to get actively involved, we invite you to consult the range of resources offered by the Fédération des parents to equip you in your (future) role within a parents’ association: https://fpfcb.bc.ca/association-de-parents-secteur-scolaire/