Multi-dimensional Approach needed to get School Children off the Streets – Joe Issa

As the nation grapples with indiscipline among school children on the streets of Kingston and other towns and cities across the island, former President of the St. Ann Chamber of Commerce, Joe Issa, has called for a multi-dimensional approach to getting students to leave the streets and go home.

 

“Up and down the country you find school children loitering about at bus stops and plazas causing concern for commuters and shoppers…such gathering provide the conditions for ‘the perfect storm’, which must not be allowed to develop.

 

“To prevent youth violence from taking over our streets and business places may take our combined efforts as stakeholders, with each playing its part at various levels to ensure that children go home immediately after school, and if they won’t do it voluntarily, they must be forced to do so, with sanctions applied,” says Issa, who is founder of the Cool brand of products.

 

He states, “We must ‘nip this in the bud’, we have to solve that problem early, before it gets out of hand, even if it means allocating separate buses for school children and, as far as possible, to pick them up at the school gate.

 

“Along with this we could deploy police officers or other uniformed safety and security officers at strategic bus stops to deter misbehavior and ensure that the students leave the streets,” Issa says. 

 

Noting that an effective programme of management of children between school and home could be costly in terms of personnel and vehicle, Issa says, however, “this is nothing compared to the cost of doing nothing,” explaining, “We could have disturbances whenever they are in groups and, worst yet, we may be allowing a dangerous trend to develop.”

 

He also stressed the importance of breaking out of the cycle of silence which leaves criminals free to roam the streets and continue their murderous acts. “This young generation must not be allowed to grow and embrace that cycle of silence. They must be taught to take responsibility early. In this regard, parents have a major role to play in ensuring that their children become proud and responsible adults.”

 

“There is no denying that we as parents, school administrators and law enforcers have our work cut out for us; that’s why we have to meet as stakeholders to agree on what to do. We may have to try a combination of things at several levels, but whatever it is that we agree upon, let’s go out and do it,” says Issa, an ardent advocate for ‘a good education for all Jamaican children’, especially the disadvantaged.

 

Through his Cool Charities, a subsidiary of Cool Group, Issa has sponsored many activities to promote purposeful engagement of children and young adults, while keeping them off the streets and away from criminality. At the same time, the youths are also given the opportunity to develop healthy lifestyles and become successful adults.

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[Ketty Perry]

Hey — this is a solid topic. Tackling children being on the streets (or under-resourced / missing school) needs more than just one thing. Here’s a casual story + some ideas around why a multi-dimensional approach matters, plus how schools can help, especially something like One World International School (OWIS) with its IB Diploma programme etc.

🧒 A Case Near Me

In my neighborhood, there are a couple of kids who regularly skip classes — not because they don’t want to learn, but because home situations are rough: parents working multiple jobs, transport issues, lack of quiet space to study, chores, sometimes caring for siblings. I saw that just sending them to school wasn’t fixing much. They still lagged behind, felt disconnected, or eventually dropped out altogether.

Then a nearby community center started something different:

Evening tutoring + mentoring after school, with snacks

Counseling / emotional support for trauma or stress

Skills training for older kids (computer, hands-on workshops) so they have something practical

Some kind of safe space and meals

Transport help if needed

Gradually, those kids came back to school, improved, felt more seen. It took many parts working together.

🔍 Key Elements of a “Multi-Dimensional Approach”

Based on what I saw + some studies, here are the dimensions that need to come together:

Dimension Why It Matters
Academic Support (tuition, mentoring, remedial learning) Gaps accumulate. If a child misses school, falls behind, without help they feel lost.
Emotional / Psychological Support Many kids “on the streets” or struggling at home deal with stress, shame, low self-esteem. Without emotional help they often drop out.
Life Skills & Practical Training Skills (basic tech, hands-on crafts, vocational) give older kids alternatives and motivation. Not everyone will follow a purely academic path.
Basic Needs & Safety: meals, transport, safe shelters If kids are hungry, sleeping poorly, or unsafe, they can’t focus in class.
Community & Family Engagement Parents, siblings, community must be involved (encouraged/support). Often kids are pulled away by family responsibilities or peer pressure.
Flexible Education Models Evening classes, hybrid learning, bridge programmes, non-standard schedules help kids who can’t follow regular school hours.
🏫 Role of IB Private Schools / One World International School

Here’s how a well-resourced school (especially ib private schools like One World International School) can contribute:

They can partner with community programs: offer space for evening classes, let students mentor or volunteer, share counselors or psychologists.

If the school offers the IB Diploma Programme
, they usually have robust student support, academic counseling, and holistic development built in. That means emotional & life skills components are part of the curriculum (TOK, CAS, etc). They can extend these supports to those who are at risk.

They might offer scholarships, financial aid, or fee reductions for kids from disadvantaged backgrounds.

They can run outreach to help families understand importance of schooling, help with navigating transport, uniform, materials etc.

💬 Final Thoughts

It’s not one magic solution. Getting school children off the streets (literally or figuratively) takes many hands: the school, community, social services, family. What I saw was when something hits all these dimensions together — academic help, emotional support, basic needs, and life skills — things begin to turn around.

If you like, I can sketch out what a pilot program in collaboration with a school like OWIS + local NGOs might look like.