Linda is a storyteller, but her identity encompasses much more than that single descriptor. Mary Ann Linda Young speaks Plains Cree 'Y' dialect and hails from Onion Lake Cree Nation. She is a residential school survivor, a Traditional Knowledge Keeper, kohkom, a friend, a student, an artist, a mother, and a grandmother.

We recently had the privilege of speaking with Kathy Robson, Deputy Director of Education at Chinook School Division, and an esteemed educational leader. Kathy shared her insights on the importance of engaging parents in education, especially as we navigate the post-COVID-19 pandemic era, where parent and family engagement took a backseat. Kathy sheds light on the significance of parent engagement, systematic improvements, successful initiatives, and practical strategies for educators to realize the need to rebuild and strengthen the parent-school relationship.

2024 brings a rare convergence of power and creativity with the Year of the Wood Dragon! It's a year for innovation, vision, and growth. Let's seize this opportunity for a gentle revolution, shaping a family-centric approach to schooling and fostering collaboration between parents and educators. As we pursue our dreams with care and compassion, let's fuel this revolution with love. Here are our thoughts and reflections to inspire you in the Year of the Wood Dragon.

We are excited to share the journey of Jillian Vancoughnett, one of Debbie’s dedicated doctoral students in the Department of Curriculum Studies at the University of Saskatchewan. Today we will reflect on her transformative journey. Under Debbie’s mentorship, Jillian completed a narrative inquiry that explored the profound experiences of parents of children with needs in the education system

Today, I want to introduce something new, discussing the world of parent engagement, in relation to parent involvement, parent advocacy, and parent lobbying, and explore the key differences and the practical implications of each.

Hello, dear community! It’s been a while since we last connected, and we have missed you enormously. No worries, we are back online and ready to share all of the exciting news, information, and inspiration surrounding parent engagement teaching and schooling at large.

Hello, dear community! As you may have heard, there’s an exciting event coming to Saskatoon this spring. Dr. Debbie Pushor and a team of graduate students are hosting a parent engagement think tank with invited international presenters at the Remai Modern in Saskatoon this Spring. The event will take place May 11th through 13th, 2023.

Today we are delighted to announce the upcoming release of School Interrupted, a podcast series on creating familycentric schools brought to you by Dr. Debbie Pushor and former graduate students from the University of Saskatchewan.

Today we are so pleased to highlight Esther Maeers. Esther is a doctoral student at the University of Regina and Dr. Debbie Pushor’s research assistant for her study entitled: Systematic parent engagement in teaching and learning: Creating a prototype to enhance academic and social outcomes for children and parents.

Today we are so pleased to highlight a former doctoral student of Debbie’s, Dr. Belinda Daniels. Belinda is an assistant professor at the University of Victoria and also the founder/co-director/coordinator of the not-for-profit nehiyawak Language Experience.

Moving forward, we’ll be providing updates on these passionate academics and educators and what they are up to. We’re going to kick it off with Emma Chen.

I am delighted to highlight the work of one of my phenomenal graduate students, Emma Chen.

Last week, Emma presented at the American Association for Applied Linguistics (AAAL) conference which is held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The theme of this year’s conference was “Applied Linguistics in Times of Reckoning and Change.”

In this series, I explore parent knowledge in all of its many forms. Parent knowledge is a foundational concept in my body of work and in parent engagement as a whole.

It’s hard to believe that March has arrived and spring is nearly upon us! We’ve got so many exciting things to look forward to in the coming weeks and we wanted to keep you up to date on some of the work we are doing in the space of parent engagement.

This fall, I am collaborating with some incredibly passionate and talented professionals in an initiative that is enormously important to me: Parent Teacher Home Visits.

Doctoral candidate Emma Chen has just published a beautiful article in The Conversation.

Here you will find information about a brand new parent engagement course by Debbie Pushor that’s now being offered.