Teaching abroad to transform home

After seven years in Jamaica’s classrooms, Kay-Ann Bartley was ready for a broader stage. She had taught at Hammersmith Preparatory School, Keith Primary and Infant School, and St Ann’s Bay Primary School, experience that sharpened her ambition but left her seeking a system with firmer alignment and deeper accountability.

She heard about and subsequently joined Participate Learning, a United States cultural-exchange programme that places international teachers in full-time K-2 (kindergarten to grade 12) roles for up to five years, recognising that the experience would sharpen her teaching skills and strengthen her impact on Jamaica’s education system upon her return.

“I wanted exposure to environments where curriculum alignment was precise, where data analysis shaped daily instruction, and where accountability systems were embedded into planning,” said Bartley, now a grade five teacher at Margaret Willis Elementary in Cumberland County, North Carolina. “I wanted to understand how high-performing educational systems operate at scale.”

The results came quickly. In her first year, serving as the grade five reading and English language arts specialist, her students’ end-of-grade growth placed her among the top quarter of teachers in Cumberland County and across North Carolina. She has since been named Teacher of the Year for 2025 to 2026, chairs the grade five team, sits on the School Improvement Team and serves on the Superintendent’s Teacher Advisory Council.

“What makes the programme particularly valuable is that support exists alongside accountability,” she noted. “Participate Learning does not relocate teachers and leave them to navigate alone. There is consistent communication, guidance, and professional oversight throughout the experience.”

Support is not merely pastoral. Teachers receive annual salaries of US$41,000 to US$55,000, medical cover, airfare, and visa assistance for themselves and their families. The structure, Bartley says, has allowed her to refine her instructional precision. “The most significant difference is the consistent and embedded use of data,” she explains. “Data is not reviewed occasionally at the end of a term. It is integrated into daily and weekly decision-making.”

Now studying for a Master’s in Instructional Design and Educational Technology, to be completed in May 2026, Bartley is already contemplating how best to deploy her new skills at home. She hopes to influence curriculum development, strengthen teacher-training frameworks and guide Jamaica’s approach to educational technology.

“When I return to Jamaica, I hope to support improvements in data-informed instruction, intervention frameworks, and responsible AI integration across the education system,” she said.

Bartley has begun sharing her experience with Jamaican colleagues, explaining the programme’s expectations and the support it provides. “Many teachers are reassured when they understand that Participate Learning provides structured guidance and consistent communication during the transition from Jamaica to the US and while they are here,” she said.

Bartley is one of 60 Jamaican educators to take part so far. She insists the programme should not be seen as a brain drain but as an investment. “Teachers return to Jamaica with enhanced instructional strategies, leadership experience and international exposure that ultimately strengthen Jamaica’s education system,” she said.

Prospective applicants must have at least two years’ full-time teaching experience after completing a degree in education, be currently employed, hold a valid driver’s licence and be prepared to live in the US for a minimum of two years.

keisha.hill@gleanerjm.com