Mumbai, June 24, 2025: In a bid to strengthen the parent-school partnership and align with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020’s vision of holistic development, Jasudben ML School (JML) launches JML-SPARK (School Parent Alliance for Raising Kids), a new space for dialogue, learning, and connection with the parent community. The inaugural talk, ‘Creating Safe Spaces for Our Teens’, conducted by Piya Marker was organised exclusively for parents of students from Classes 6 to 8. It focused on promoting trust and emotional resilience between parents and their adolescent children.
The session was facilitated by Piya Marker, an educator with over 26 years of experience, a Master’s in Special Education, and an internationally certified parent coach. Speaking to a full house of engaged parents, she shed light on the evolving world of adolescents today. A world marked by social media, peer dynamics, academic pressure, shifting identities, and a constant need for validation. She helped parents explore how they can intentionally create safe spaces at home and in their relationship with their children by being more aware, responsive, and emotionally available.
Marker’s depth of understanding comes not only from her professional experience but also as the founding Principal of a school for children with learning disabilities. She shared, “Today’s adolescents face a world that’s easier in comfort but harder in complexity. As parents, we must be vigilant, compassionate, and willing to evolve to truly understand the shifting ground they stand on, their safety depends on it!”
The session went beyond general advice and offered concrete strategies for building trust and open communication, such as active listening, setting boundaries with empathy, acknowledging adolescent stressors, and reframing parental responses in challenging moments, among others.
Principal Shilpa Gandhi remarked, “Parenting today comes with new-age challenges. At Jasudben ML School, we believe education cannot be limited to the classroom. It must also include equipping our families to understand the emotional lives of children. Mrs. Marker’s session gave our parents not just insight, but confidence. Because when school and home come together, the child thrives, not just academically, but as a whole person.”
Through the JML-SPARK initiative, the school aims to prioritise emotional intelligence, safe school-home dialogue, and holistic child development, core pillars of NEP 2020. The school recognises that academic success is deeply tied to emotional safety, and that parenting, much like education, must evolve with time.