MICHAEL Thomas likes to boast about his impressive Parent Teachers Association (PTA) record. In over 20 years, he has rarely been absent from a meeting.

Many parents view these functions as boring and useless, but the father of six sons thinks otherwise.

“A parent must be involved in their child’s development. I can count the amount of times I’ve missed a PTA meeting on one hand; being in the PTA has a positive impact on their education,” said Thomas, who has been part of such activities for over 25 years.

That attitude earned him the inaugural Parent of The Year award from SchoolSMS Parent School Award in 2015. Its second staging takes place on November 12 at the Jamaica Conference Centre in downtown Kingston.

Thomas is public relations officer for the Denbigh High School PTA, a 12-member committee that meets six times a year. Three of his sons attended that Clarendon school.

Information Technology consultant, Mark Trought, is CEO of Ezeelink Caribbean Ltd. He came up with the concept for a Parent of The Year award while promoting his SchoolSMS commuications system at PTA meetings in the 14 parishes.

He was surprised by the low turnout at most of the 300 functions. Like Thomas, he believes the PTA plays a critical role in child development.

“What we are trying to do is show that the PTA is a motivational tool. But based on statistics, we see that parents are not showing enough interest in the schools,” Trought said.

James won the first ‘competition’ based on points tallied by a panel comprising members of the Jamaica Parent Teachers Association. He was awarded $170,000.

Six schools also received $20,000 for winning their respective regions.

This year, Trought’s company has expanded the initiative to include a School of The Year Award. There are eight categories — four each under Parent of The Year and School of The Year banners.

A total of $2 million cash will be awarded to winners. The format for Parent and School of The Year is based on an SMS polling and points system tallied by judges from the ministry of education, SchoolSMS and Jamaica Parents Association.

The breakdown reads:

High School of The Year – $500,000

Primary School of The Year – $250,000

Primary/Junior High/All Age School of The Year – $100,000

Basic/infant/prep School of The Year – $50,000

Parent of The Year (high school) – $250,000;

Primary school – $150,000;

Primary junior high/All Age – $50,000;

Basic/Infant/Prep – $25,000.

Deadline for prospects is October 20. The criteria: 30 per cent of the school population (administrators, teachers, parents) must be signed up for the SchoolSMS Service.

Trought was previously a consultant with the government’s Operation PRIDE housing programme. He started Ezeelink Caribbean Ltd In 2007. The SchoolSMS Communications service, which includes text messages to parents, is used in over 300 schools.