Please note that programmes listed in the ETV Guide will be uploaded for broadcast on a progressive basis.
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High School Deans of Discipline Upgrade Skills
April 5, 2015: More than one hundred deans of disciplines in high schools are now better able to deal with anti-social behavior among students, following a one-week intensive training course held recently at the Jamaica Police Academy in St Catherine.
Deans of Discipline are mandated to, among other things, provide intervention for students’ disciplinary issues; develop appropriate programmes to promote positive behaviour; monitor, develop and implement student behavioural contracts; keep a log of students’ attendance and truancy issues; communicate disciplinary concerns to parents and staff; and to ensure the overall safety of the school premises.
Speaking at the closing out ceremony last week, Education Minister Ronald Thwaites charged deans of discipline to be the ones to lead the drive for the restoration and enforcement of discipline in the schools, and offered them the full backing of the Ministry of Education.
The course participants were exposed to all aspects of safety including defensive tactics, security audit, critical incident report writing, and liaising with the Community Safety and Security Branch of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) as well as the National Road Safety Council, disclosed Coleridge Minto, Director of Safety and Security in Schools at the Ministry of Education. He asserted that learning took place and there was a “great appreciation” for the high level of training provided by the Jamaica Constabulary Force.
Carl Sterling, dean of discipline at Vauxhall High School, welcomed the training course, noting that the sessions were very informative and served as re-enforcement for some of the duties that he is required to fulfill. “I am happy that the ministry has gone this route and I know that all the schools that are involved will benefit. Every school should have a dean of discipline, from the primary level upwards,” Sterling said.
Another participant, Donovan Campbell, dean of discipline at the Oracabessa High School, said the training session has re-enforced the need for a less combative approach to address students’ anti-social behavior, such as bullying. He said the dispensation now requires a softer, firmer approach, not punishing the child, but putting measures in place to correct the behaviour and point the child in the right direction.
Meanwhile, Anthony Feurtado dean of discipline at the Eltham High School, noted that while schools need to provide a safe learning environment, efforts also must be focused on creating and maintaining a nurturing learning environment that is characterised by dignity and respect for all members of the school community.
The recent training for deans of discipline also addressed effective classroom management strategies, systems of rewards and sanctions, conflict resolution strategies, the rights and responsibilities of the child, the role of parents and communities, the development of a standard-home school agreement and code of conduct for students, teachers and parents.
Parents Empowered to Care for Children with Special Needs
March 27, 2015: Scores of parents of children with special needs have been motivated and empowered by the information shared with them during a recent seminar put on by the Ministry of Education’s Region One Office at the Pembroke Hall Primary School in St Andrew.
Patricia Robinson-Riley, mother of an eleven-year-old child with special needs, said the sessions were very informative and helped her to deal with issues she had surrounding the care for her child who is a sicklier and recovering from a stroke. She said the presentations at the seminar have made her aware that as a result of the stroke her child’s cognitive ability has slowed down so she has to exercise more patience with him.
“His grades were also very low in school and I believed that he could study more and do better than he was doing. I used to motivate him and sometimes I would get upset when he failed to make any progress,” Robinson-Riley recounted.
Another parent Tamara Brown disclosed that her eight-year-old child had a spinal injury from birth and has been confined to a wheelchair. The mother of four said she was happy that the forum touched on important points that can help her to deal with her son’s special needs.
Stigmatize him
Mother of two, Alesa Bloomfield, said her three year-old son is autistic and by listening to the presentations she has been inspired and motivated to continue caring for her child.
“I realize that I am not alone and I am motivated to be strong and active in my child’s life. When people see my son they stigmatize him and at one point I was in denial about the disability. Now I feel proud. I know he is special and God gave me him for a purpose,” Bloomfield said.
The presentation also taught her to be patient with her child. “My son doesn’t speak and whatever he wants he pulls on my clothes and points to it. Sometimes I become impatient with him. However, today I am motivated and I feel like a supermom,” she added.
Leonard Doyley, the father of a nine-year-old boy said his son is a slow learner and becomes easily distracted from his lessons. He attended the seminar to learn more about coping with children that have special needs. “It is my first time attending a forum like this. I came because I want to help my son to learn and become something special in life,” Doyley said.
More than 160 parents and some 230 students and teachers attended the seminar, which Education Officer Gregory King said was successful in fulfilling the ministry’s mandate of providing equitable educational opportunities for all.
“We have achieved this here by informing and motivating these parents on how to deal with children diagnosed with special needs,” King said.
The seminar was part of a Parent Information Fair, organized by the Ministry of Education Region One in partnership with various stakeholders. These include the National Parent Support Commission, the Jamaica Council for Persons with Disabilities, the HEART Trust/NTA, the Nathan Ebanks Foundation, the Jamaica Association for Children with Learning Disabilities, the Office of the Children’s Registry, Bashy Bus Krew from Children First among others.
Students with Special Needs Accommodated at GSAT Exams
March 27, 2015: Some 261 students with a variety of special needs were among the 38,470 candidates who sat the two-day Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT) that ended today. The Test was postponed by a week due to the adverse effects on nearby schools of smoke from a fire at the Riverton City disposal site in St. Catherine.
The special needs included autism, broken limb, gunshot wound, blindness, visual impairment, hearing loss, sickle cell, learning disabilities, a cancer patient, and language barrier (in the case of two Chinese-speaking students). In all the cases the Ministry of Education ensured that facilities were in place to accommodate the administering of the examination.
One student, who was a patient in the Bustamante Hospital for Children, was allowed to write the examination in the presence of a visiting invigilator. Other forms of assistance from the Ministry included the provision of extra time, a reader, writer, prompter, interpreter, large font, braille and preferential seating.
The GSAT candidates with special needs were from the regions as follows: Region One-186, Region Two- 8, Region Three- 6, Region Four- 15, Region Five – 8 and Region Six – 38.
SEVEN JAMAICAN STUDENTS AWARDED SCHOLARSHIPS
Seven of Jamaica’s most outstanding achievers have received scholarships under the Annual Jamaica/Grace Kennedy Scholarship Award.
The students were awarded the scholarships based on their performance in the sitting of the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) in June 2014. The seven students, who attended high schools in Kingston, St. Andrew and Clarendon, were selected from amongst 168 students. The high acheivers are:-
- Romario White – Jamaica Male, Campion College
- Kaesha Thomas – Jamaica Female, Campion College
- Clenmar Rowe – Jamaica Independence Open, Glenmuir High School
- Scizar Samuels – Jamaica Independence (Male), Wolmer’s Boys School
- Rochelle Knight – Jamaica Independence (Female), Campion College
- John Matthews – Jamaica Adult Suffrage, Campion College
- Ojae Henry – Jamaica Centerary (Male), Glenmuir High School
The scholarship recipients, except for two, are all currently studying at the University of the West Indies and all except one is pursuing Medicine.
Each year, prior to the CAPE examinations, the Tertiary Unit of the Ministry of Education invites application from high school and community college students for the various scholarships. Once applications are received, the prospectives are sent to the University of Cambridge Local Examination Syndicate, England, and the Caribbean Examinations Council, Barbados. The final choice for the scholarships is made based on the calculation of standard scores in both exams from the Syndicate and the Council.
The scholarships cover tuition fees, a maintenance allowance of $60,000, and a book allowance of $15,000. All awardees are bonded to work with the Jamaican Government or any local organisation approved by the Ministry of Education for a period stipulated by the Cabinet Office. Scholarship recipients must meet given criteria –they may not change their course of study without approval nor hold another scholarship or award without permission. They should also display satisfactory performance in their area of study.
Clenmar Rowe
John Matthews
Kaesha Thomas
Ojae Henry
Rochelle Knight
Romario White
Scizar Samuels
Sectoral Presentation 2014 – 2015
Mr Speaker, the tone and content of this annual contribution on education has to be special. The subject is far too important for partisan bickering or point-scoring across the aisle or between special interests within the sector. Our heads and our hearts have to be in different and higher places when we are discussing student achievement. So I open by expressing sincere thanks to all my colleagues for their critical support, especially members of the Opposition; to the teachers and their associations for a year spent building bridges, recognizing strengths and weaknesses and reaching accommodations; appreciation to the Churches and the public commentators who have played such a vital role in guiding policy
Education Ministry distributes literacy books to 800 schools
Sonia White, principal of St. Patrick’s Primary School in the Corporate Area, receives supplies of Literacy 1-2-3 textbooks from Claudette Carter, director of the United States Agency for International Development /Ministry of Education’s Improved Reading Outcomes Project, which funded the recent procurement of 613,000 books. Approximately 800 schools along with parish libraries and teachers’ colleges will receive supplies of the Literacy 1-2-3 books. Other Ministry of Education personnel are assisting with the sorting and distribution process.
Minister Praises Staff, Stakeholders for Achievements by the Education Sector
EDUCATION Minister Ronald Thwaites says during 2014 there has been a heightened awareness by many people of the value of education to their personal development. He points to the uptake by thousands of young persons of existing and expanded opportunities to advance their education.
Expanded opportunities include the launch of the High School Diploma Equivalency programme by the Jamaica Foundation for Lifelong Learning; the restructuring and rebranding of the Career Advancement Programme; the launch of the Registered Apprenticeship Programme; the introduction by HEART Trust/NTA of a community training initiative for unattached youth; and the provision of adequate funding to the Student Loan Bureau.
Minister Thwaites says these achievements in the education sector during 2014 are the result of the combined efforts of teachers, school leaders, ministry staff, parents, partners and students. He pays special tribute to principals and board chairmen who kept the doors of schools open despite the challenges of significant levels of absenteeism by staff and students arising from the impact of the Chikungunya virus outbreak.
The Education Minister commends all stakeholders for their contribution to the education sector during the year that is coming to a close, and expresses best wishes to all during the Christmas holiday and for the New Year.
New Guidelines for Managing SBAs
The Ministry of Education will this month implement stricter guidelines for the management of the Caribbean Examinations Council’s (CXC) school-based assessments (SBAs). These are projects or assignments that students are required to produce for individual subjects. The marks awarded are then counted towards students’ final results in the CXC examinations.
The new SBA management guidelines are in response to allegations of malpractice on the part of some students and school personnel. Against this background, the new measures seek to standardise and improve accountability in the system of SBA production, with the ultimate goal of eliminating malpractice. They are also intended to ensure that the works produced reflect the students’ efforts and, importantly, contribute to the development of life-long skills including independent academic research.
In administering their SBA systems, schools are now required to comply with a rigorous set of standards and expectations in six key areas. These include internal quality assurance, accountability, communication, monitoring, teacher support, and school readiness. Education Officers will continuously monitor schools to ensure compliance with these standards. Additionally, a team of assessors from the Ministry of Education will evaluate schools, as required during the active SBA period each year, to determine how well their administrative systems comply with the required standards. Non-compliance may result in students’ overall performance being negatively impacted, since SBAs represent between 20 and 70 per cent of students’ final examination grades in some CXC subjects.
Explaining the six key areas of the new standards-based SBA management system, Chief Education Officer Dr Grace McLean notes the importance of ensuring internal quality assurance. She emphasises that schools are now required to have clearly outlined quality standards for SBAs in each subject; ensure that assessment and standardisation of scoring is done regularly; ensure that sampling of teachers’ work by heads of departments is done; and ensure that malpractice by students and administrators is prevented.
The Chief Education Officer states that schools must have accountability measures in place. These include defined roles, responsibilities, sanctions and alternatives in their SBA administrative systems. The chain of command must also be clearly articulated, documented and communicated.
Dr McLean emphasises the need for schools to have in place an effective communication system that includes written schedules for the completion of SBAs; established procedures to inform teachers, parents and students of their expected roles; and well-established channels to report on issues and challenges. She also notes that schools should implement a monitoring system to evaluate the progress of teachers and students towards the completion of quality SBAs on time, and ensure there is alignment between curricula content and the SBA.
Underscoring the importance of teacher support, the Chief Education Officer says teachers must ensure that the quality of the SBA task is aligned to CXC standards and to the skills and competencies students are expected to acquire at that stage of their learning. Teachers are also expected to provide quality advice and feedback to students and parents, and to monitor students’ progress towards producing quality SBAs.
In addition, she points out that schools are now being assessed for their state of readiness in terms of teachers being trained in the subject areas they teach, availability of materials and resources for specific subjects, provision of adequate amenities, and space for the storage and retrieval of SBAs.
The development of the new SBA management guidelines is a collaborative effort between the National Education Inspectorate and the Overseas Examination Commission (OEC). This followed the surveying of a sample of high school principals and students island-wide as well as the reviewing of literature and best practices on SBAs locally and internationally. According to Chief Inspector, Maureen Dwyer, a set of supporting documents has been developed. These include a number of instruments to assist school administrators and ministry officials in implementing the new SBA management system. It was piloted in thirty-one schools in November last year.
Meanwhile, Hector Stephenson, CEO for the OEC has welcomed the new SBA management guidelines, noting that they provide schools, which are not up to standard, with the methodology to improve their systems; while highlighting where best practices already exist.
Ministry Steps up Training for Potential School Principals
THE MINISTRY of Education has taken another step to expand the pool of persons trained as prospective principals in order to improve the quality of leadership in the country’s public schools.
The National College for Educational Leadership (NCEL), through a newspaper advertisement, is inviting qualified educators to apply for entry to round two of the Aspiring Principals Programme that is offered through the University of the West Indies.
This follows the recent completion of the programme by the first batch of just over 40 educators from public schools across the country. They were granted fellowships by the Ministry of Education. The Aspiring Principals Programme targets education professionals with strong leadership potential who are desirous of becoming school principals. Participants are exposed to strategies designed to achieve school improvement, increased student performance, greater stakeholder involvement, sound financial management and schooling that focuses on the development of the whole child.
Principal Director of NCEL, Dr Maurice Smith, says as a result of the exposure to the training programme members of the inaugural cohort have been able to reconstruct their understanding of school leadership and are in a better position to lead positive change in their institutions. Dr Smith says these NCEL certified persons are available to board chairmen as they recruit school leaders.
Several pieces of research, including the Chief Inspector’s Report published by the National Education Inspectorate, have attributed weak school leadership as a main contributor to the low levels of performance at some of the country’s public schools.
To address this problem, NCEL has implemented a series of initiatives, including the Aspiring Principals Programme and the Effective Principals’ Training Programme, to target practicing principals and other senior staff. To date, more than 600 practising principals and other school leaders have been exposed to training by NCEL.
Legislation is being drafted to require persons to be in possession of NCEL certification before they are engaged as principals of public schools in Jamaica.