Bridging home and school

MANDEVILLE, Manchester: Parental involvement in schools, as it is traditionally practised, is often limited and does little to build the parenting skills needed to improve student outcomes. This, according to Kaysia Kerr, chief executive officer of the National Parenting Support Commission (NPSC).

Kerr was addressing educators, parents, and caregivers at a Special Education Pre-Conference Workshop hosted at Church Teachers’ College (CTC) under the theme ‘Bridging Home and School: Parental Strategies and Investment’. Drawing on national data and research, she challenged schools to move beyond token engagements, such as annual orientations, rushed parent-teacher conferences, or reactive meetings triggered by student behaviour.

“These activities do not enable school leaders to appreciate that parenting programmes which build parenting skills, when attached to schools, significantly enhance student outcomes,” Kerr noted, referencing findings presented during her session.

Kerr reported that the NPSC trained 1,021 parents in 2025 alone, and that, over the past three years, more than half a million parents across Jamaica have benefitted from commission-led parenting support programmes. She described the reach as evidence that parenting support must be treated as a national development imperative rather than a peripheral educational activity.

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A past student of Church Teachers’ College — which she described as “the best teachers’ college in the western hemisphere”— Kerr emphasised that parents are a child’s first teachers and must be empowered as active partners in education, not merely observers of it. She acknowledged the realities faced by teachers, including children arriving at school hungry or emotionally unprepared to learn, arguing that such challenges demand stronger alignment between home, school, and community.

Using the NPSC’s Parental Involvement in Education Model, Kerr distinguished between parental involvement in school and parental involvement in education. The latter, she explained, focuses on parent mentoring, empowerment, shared decision-making, and community engagement that transforms school culture and strengthens learning outcomes. The model promotes structured school plans, parent education sessions, collaboration with community partners, and alignment with national parenting needs.

Participants were also guided through internationally recognised recommendations on parent engagement, including those advanced by researcher Joyce Epstein. These emphasise inclusive communication systems, language accessibility, parent participation in decision-making, meaningful school events, and the measurement of parent engagement impact.

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Kerr further outlined parents’ rights within the education system, including the right to consent to or disagree with school decisions, access student records, receive prior written notice, and participate in educational planning meetings — a reminder that partnership must be grounded in mutual respect and accountability.

The session included interactive group work, where participants reflected on their expectations and objectives. Kyle Paul Stephenson, one of the presenters, shared goals centred on strengthening parent engagement, improving communication between parents and teachers, supporting positive student behaviour, and building sustainable home-school relationships. His presentation echoed the workshop’s central message: that collaboration must be intentional, practical, and rooted in shared responsibility.

The workshop formed part of a broader initiative led by the Church Teachers’ College Educational Assessment and Intervention Centre, aimed at promoting inclusive education and strengthening systems that support students with special needs. By the end of the session, participants were urged to rethink how parental engagement is structured, and to see the NPSC as a key partner in bridging the long-standing divide between home and school.