Iqaluit DEA lends late support to parents association

The Iqaluit District Education Authority has lent its support to the Nakasuk Parents Association.

The battle to get the association has been a long fight for some Iqaluit parents.

Sherry McNeil-Mulak tried to start a parent-teacher association at the school last fall. She said all she wanted to do was be involved in her daughter’s education.

When the idea was rejected by the school principal and the Iqaluit DEA, she and 23 other families formed the Nakasuk Parents Association, without the teachers.

At a DEA meeting Monday night, Nakasuk Elementary School principal Tracey MacMillan listed several reasons why a parent-teacher association is not necessary.

"Throughout the academic year, information notices are distributed to parents inviting them to participate in events and curriculum initiatives," said MacMillan.

She also listed all of the volunteer opportunities the school already creates for parents.

But MacMillan also said she will work with the new group if she is directed by the Iqaluit DEA to do so.

"If that is your decision, I ask that you provide the operational procedures of the new bureaucratic body. Principals will need to have a clearly stated profile of that body and their role so that it will not impact operational procedures at the school, or be in conflict with the IDEA."

MacMillan also suggested that the Iqaluit DEA consult with the Nunavut Employees Union, the Department of Education and the Nunavut Teachers’ Association before sanctioning the new body.

McNeil-Mulak said these concerns were just a diversion. In a presentation to the IDEA earlier this month, she said the group's goal was to create an informal parents group that focuses on volunteering and fundraising. The parents also said they would not look to supersede the DEA, or advocate for individual students.

In the end, DEA members voted to support the new group, although some members remained cool on the idea.

McNeil-Mulak said, even if the support is lukewarm, she'll take what she can get.

Despite the victory, she said it has been a disappointing experience, especially at a time when the Nunavut government is emphasizing the role of parents in education.

"So it was a bit of surprise for us to encounter the resistance. That being said, we know that good things don't happen overnight and sometimes the best things encounter a little bit of hardship along the way, so we remain very positive in going forward," said McNeil-Mulak.

The Nakasuk Parents Association will now be able to meet at the school and send letters home with children inviting other parents to take part.