Chapter 7: Parent Fundraising in Toronto Schools: Coordinating Policy Layers

Michelle, while fictional, is illustrative of many parents in Canada who run Scholastic book fairs in their children’s schools each year. According to Scholastic Canada (2018), 11,000 book fairs are held annually across the country. Proceeds from the fairs can be used to buy books and other resources for their schools. Fundraising is common in many Canadian and American public schools and often cited as an effective way to engage parents in their children’s schools. However, fundraising for public schools is not without its critics (Winton, 2016). They argue that the practice perpetuates inequities between schools and communities, since some schools raise hundreds of thousands of dollars annually while other raise nothing at all. Proceeds from fundraising are used to buy materials and opportunities not available to all children in public schools; purchased items and experiences include playground equipment, library books, computers, arts performances, field trips, science workshops, team jerseys, and more (People for Education [P4E], 2017; Winsa, 2015).