Hrh Princess Laurentien: ‘Parent involvement and child participation belong to the new normal’.

Hrh Princess Laurentien: ‘Parent involvement and child participation belong to the new normal’.

Thursday 13 June 2019 was the final meeting of Together We Are School. During that meeting, Her Royal Highness Princess Laurentien was a guest. She challenged the guests to continue parent involvement as a movement: "It starts small. Together you are more, we can fix this! Start behind the scenes and then move up."

During the afternoon, children, parents and teachers from different schools were present. Also, alderman Klein from the municipality of Utrecht, representatives of national education organizations and various school directors and governors attended.

Next To Each Other

During one of the program parts, parents, students and people from education talked to each other. One of the most important conclusions: “Let’s stand next to each other, not opposite each other. When you do that, there is equality and you see children’s results go up. In that working together, love and passion for students is central. Therefore, let students speak clearly.”

Hand In Hand

“How do you make sure the conversation at school continues at the kitchen table?” asked Her Royal Highness Princess Laurentien. “That is why I warmly support this movement. I hope it becomes the new normal, where child participation and parent involvement go hand in hand. Maybe then all the complaints about ‘education is so bad’ also change a bit.”

Future

Her Royal Highness Princess Laurentien challenged the initiators of Together We Are School to continue the movement. Especially by combining it with child participation and by looking for other labels (such as The Peaceful School and The Healthy School), much can be achieved. The initiative Together We Are School accepts that offer and will consider next steps in the coming months, with active involvement of the conference participants.

About Together We Are School

Together We Are School calls on parents and schools to work even more together on the success and well-being of students. Their good cooperation is in the interest of the student, the parent and the teacher. The initiative was started by Verus, Ouders & Onderwijs, CPS and Driestar education advice. More information: www.samenzijnwijschool.nl.