The Ministry of Education is planning to introduce a national parent-teacher association (PTA) programme to get more parents involved in their children’s schooling.
Education minister Rolston Anglin announced the initiative on 21 August at the Education Professionals’ Welcome Event at John Gray High School.
He said the programme will give parents more opportunities to participate in school life and provide guidance on supporting their children’s learning at home.
“Caymanian parents need to understand that if you’re not going to actively and meaningfully participate and support your schools, your children will not meet the destination that you’re hoping and praying that they can meet,” Anglin said.
“And so, if you really love your children, if you truly love your children, you have to actively participate.”
The national programme will build on PTA activities already taking place at individual schools across the Cayman Islands.
Anglin said some PTAs are already using meetings to show parents how they can support their children at school.
“There’s a number of good pockets of excellence that’s happening across our islands,” he said.
“We have PTAs who start PTA meetings with giving parents instruction around how to support their children in school.”
Anglin said bringing those practices into a national initiative will give families and schools a common framework for parental involvement.
He also said greater participation could provide teachers with additional support in their classrooms.
“This is a key initiative that will, I’m sure, and I’m positive, help you and your classrooms because you’ll start to see better and deeper support from the parents of the pupils in front of you,” he said.
The announcement was part of a wider message from Anglin about responsibility within the education system. He said accountability should extend to teachers, school leaders, policymakers and parents.
“It’s not just about teachers and school leaders doing a great job,” he said. “We in policy must do a great job as well.”
Anglin also called on parents to take a greater role in supporting schools. He referred to parents who say they are too busy to become involved in their children’s education.
“Parents, parents need to support schools more,” Anglin said. “We have too many Caymanian parents who make the excuse that, ‘Oh, I’m too busy, and therefore I can’t help, so you fix my child’.”
The minister also spoke about his own upbringing and the role his parents and teachers played in his education.
He said his mother left school at 10 years old and worked as a domestic helper, while his father worked as a seaman and later became a contract painter.
“It was because of great teachers like you adding on to what my mother and my father poured into me from home that allowed me to reach my new destination,” he said.
