Community organizations as mediators in the home-school partnership for mathematics education

The question of what is out there in the mathematical community with respect to such being used to build a stronger alliance between families and school personnel can be quite broad in scope. There are numerous opportunities to explore organizations, resources, and professional contacts within this considered domain, all of which are dedicated to supporting families as partners or key informants in students' learning of mathematics. As a rotary Prep educator at Woodland Heights Public School, I can access several resources that are immediate to any school within the Thames Valley District School Board. For example, our Board offers an online newsletter "Home Connections in Mathematics" that outlines several ways families can extend the learning of mathematics beyond the classroom and into the everyday lives of their children. This webpage features monthly newsletters that encompass a series of relevant and timely problems, questions, and challenges that students can work with their families to solve, without demanding access to costly equipment or relying upon transportation from one place to another. Using this online resource enables families to envision themselves as active researchers in the learning of mathematics and for them to further build networks of learning communities between the home and school environments.

Another way that mathematical learning partnerships can evolve through families and schools is through a method of learning that the Ontario Teachers Federation offers through its Parent Engagement Program. This program is a self-professed online guide that supports "elementary and secondary teachers and educators working with parents and guardians (2017)." Tips on the following categories can be further tailored to suit the objective of building a family-school learning community around the Ontario mathematics program: Establishing positive relationships; modelling effective communication; supporting students' academic success; contributing to school life; engaging in well-being and safety issues; addressing equity issues and concerns; managing and resolving conflicts. I have put into place a family-school partnership that continues to evolve, and which is facilitated through a series of key initiatives: timely newsletters, interviews, and two-way communication. These initiatives have been harnessed through consideration of the OTF Parent Engagement Program.

A further idea that is proposed by the Ontario Ministry of Education is the concept of a "knowledge building." Knowledge building is an inquiry-based learning stance that endeavours to build knowledge through student-centered questions, data-collection methods, and representational strategies. An outline of this approach can be viewed at: 12 Principles of Knowledge Building. Through this pedagogical approach, educators can reach to families and involve them in building students' critical awareness of the world around them and shift learners to become active citizens in their local, provincial/territorial, federal, and international communities. Knowledge building activities can be practiced alongside or concurrent with suggestions made in the Ontario Parent Guide for Mathematics Education (K-6).