Basil Jarrett | Parents – The missing piece of the academic puzzle

TWO WEEKS after the release of Educate Jamaica’s most recent academic rankings of Jamaican high schools, things have begun to settle back to normalcy. At least until the 2024 numbers come out to set tongues wagging again, that is. It’s a familiar story: a lot of extended bragging by the chart toppers, familiar excuses by those who should be doing better, and a cry for help from those at the bottom.

Similarly, we hear the oh-so-familiar refrains that the rankings aren’t fair, Government needs to spend more and the future of our children is in serious doubt. The chorus of criticisms, recommendations and fear are not without merit.

Yes, the rankings do perhaps unfairly compare monied schools to their poorer cousins, yes, you can always spend more on education and yes, in many ways those fears are justified. But among the litany of excuses and bright ideas about how to fix the rankings and to fix the education system in general, one that you don’t hear a lot about is the importance of the input and contribution from parents.

HIGH SCHOOL IS NOT FOR BABYSITTING

It’s a point that has not escaped the attention of Education Minister Fayval Williams, who recently noted at the Hope Valley Experimental School’s graduation exercise, that parental involvement is a critical factor in children’s educational success. In exhorting the 93 graduating students following their performance in the Primary Exit Profile (PEP) exercise, Minister Williams told parents not to hand their children over to high school and just walk away.

“Our children are going to need you now, even more than they did in primary school,” she urged, “because they are transitioning into a more complex environment in high school, one in which they ... are expected to be more independent. Nobody is going to be running behind them saying ‘Do your work’ or ‘Go to class’. So, parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, they are going to need your support every step of the way.”

The minister couldn’t be any more spot on.

MONEY ALONE DOESN’T MAKE THE MARE RUN

During my time as president of the JC Old Boys Association (JCOBA), long before we were chased from the campus and forced to have our meetings on the roadside, my administration made education and academic support a priority. Our academic and welfare support programmes pumped considerable resources, financial and otherwise, into the school, on the somewhat mistaken idea that we could fix the academic issues by simply flinging money at it. The idea had started from a benchmarking exercise we had conducted by sitting down with the academic heavyweights just down the road from us. Rather than waste time and energy reinventing the wheel, we wanted to know how Campion was able to pull off those extraordinary results year in and year out, because at the time, the average Campion-ite didn’t look that much different from our own boys in blue.

At least that’s what the school had told us when we found out that at least 70 per cent of our boys were coming from prep schools. Well, if 70 per cent of our boys come from prep schools, then their parents are used to paying up to $300,000 a year for tuition, we reasoned, and would therefore be willing and able to contribute to a teacher incentive programme, similar to the one that Campion had in place.

And so we went off on a journey to encourage our parents to contribute to the JCOBA teacher incentive endowment programme. What Campion didn’t tell us, however, was that the promise of a cash reward was not at all the most critical factor in the performance of their teachers.

A NO-FAIL MANDATE

This, we later found out, was attributed, more than anything else, to a culture of academic achievement, borne in and sustained by their teaching staff and most notably, their parent body who gave the school a no-fail, academic excellence mission. In numerous conversations with their parents, staff and some teachers, it was made abundantly clear that academic failure there is not an option. Staff and teachers are told in no uncertain terms what the expectations are of them, and this is strongly reinforced by a parent body that not only ensures that teachers know what is expected of them, but also provides support to get the job done.

In fact, if you read the reflections of the top-performing principals from last week’s rankings, they will tell you that a highly engaged and motivated parent body was a critical component of their winning formula. Perhaps more than many others, these parents recognise that high school, the stepping stone to higher education and future success, is a critical phase in their children’s life. During these formative years, students face numerous academic challenges, social pressures, and pivotal decision-making moments and for these parents, unwavering support and active involvement in that journey can significantly impact their academic achievement and overall development.

MONITORING AND MEASURING

To that effect, the home environment is instrumental in fostering a love for learning and dedication to studies. Parents in high-achieving schools know and appreciate the importance of education, establish a designated study area at home, and maintain a consistent routine with their kids. Critically too, they stay informed about their children’s academic progress and step in early enough to correct things when they appear to be going off the rails. Here, regular monitoring of their grades, attending parent-teacher conferences and communicating with teachers prove to be valuable insights and interventions into their children’s academic lives.

The obvious problem here is that not all parents and households are so focused and so equipped. Some parents are so busy trying to put food on the table, that ensuring that homework is done often comes a distant second. I get that and I agree. But looking back at my apples-to-apples comparison between our boys and those kids at Campion who are similarly coming from a prep school background, my point is clear.

Imploring the Ministry of Education to fix our schools by simply spending more isn’t the be-all and end-all of academic excellence. Parents, too, have a critical role to play in ensuring accountability and performance. As parents, we must begin to see ourselves as more than role models for our children. We must also view ourselves as defenders and vanguards of their future, and address anything that threatens to derail that process. Seeing high school as your child’s babysitter for the next five years is a recipe for calamity.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying that money isn’t important, because it is. What I’m saying is that all the money in the world is useless if it is not accompanied by a passion, desire and demand for results.

Major Basil Jarrett is a communications strategist and CEO of Artemis Consulting, a communications consulting firm specialising in crisis communications and reputation management. Follow him on Twitter, Instagram and Threads @IamBasilJarrett