Minister of Education and Youth, Hon. Fayval Williams, on Tuesday (June 20), broke ground for the construction of an 11-classroom block, among other amenities, at Bridgeport High School in Portmore, St. Catherine.

The work, to be undertaken through the National Education Trust (NET) at a cost of $253 million, will also include construction of two science laboratories, a Home Economics workshop, and bathroom facilities.

The expansion will benefit just over 1,600 students and is slated to be completed within 10 months, ahead of the 2024/25 academic year.

These additional provisions are expected to significantly aid in removing the institution from the shift system.

This is aligned with the Administration’s commitment to remove the system from all institutions where it is being utilised.

“The Government has reiterated this commitment through an increase in the budget allocated to this Ministry, and we continue to fulfil that mandate in a targeted, efficient, and effective manner,” Minister Williams stated in her remarks.

For her part, Executive Director of NET, Latoya Harris-Ghartey, said she has tasked the team with ensuring that the project timeline is met.

“[This] so that the school will have the facilities for full rollout come September 2024 and also to ensure that it keeps within budget,” she stated.

“We know that infrastructure is a critical part of learning outcomes for students, and the new building will boast the latest state-of-the-art facilities… and the rich history of Bridgeport will be enhanced through improved infrastructure,” Mrs. Harris-Ghartey added.

Meanwhile, an elated Principal, Beverley Harris, expressed her gratitude to all the parties involved in the expansion project.

“I want to say many thanks, including to the [Portmore Municipal Corporation] which waived the building plan [fees for the construction],” she disclosed.

“Our 1,626 students, 103 teachers, 50-plus support staff members, to include ancillary staff, administrators [and] our security staff, we’re overjoyed… we’re happy,” she told JIS News.

Ms. Harris said no classes are expected to be disrupted during the construction exercise.

“The closest classrooms [to the construction site] are the science labs, but there shouldn’t be any major disruptions. We’re also promised that it shouldn’t disrupt the regular flow of the school schedule,” she advised.

Ms. Harris said after the expansion is completed, the start time for classes will move from 6:45 a.m. to about 8:00 a.m.

Bridgeport High is the second of 32 schools being removed from the shift system. This follows Black River High in St. Elizabeth, for which the system’s removal takes effect at the start of the 2023/24 academic year in September.

Parents and guardians are being urged by the National Parenting Support Commission (NPSC) to remain calm ahead of the release of the 2023 Primary Exit Profile (PEP) results for grade-six students.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Kaysia Kerr, said PEP is one component of the Ministry of Education and Youth’s system of assessment that helps with organisation of students for the continuation of learning.

Consequently, she told JIS News, PEP results should not be treated as a measure of a child’s ultimate success in life.

“It really is there to provide important information so that children, parents and teachers will know what support they need as they transition to high school. Because of this, there is really no need to fear. Parents need not have apprehension in terms of where children will be placed,” Ms. Kerr noted.

She assures parents that there are “great teachers” right across Jamaica’s education system, whether or not their children transition to a school of their choice.

The CEO further pointed out that some students may be disappointed when the PEP results are announced.

“Disappointment is OK as long as children get to understand that this is not the end all or be all. Learning will continue. In fact, learning is a lifelong process and this is just the beginning of an exciting part of the learning journey,” she underscores.

Ms. Kerr encourages parents to explain, in ways that children will understand and in a manner that is gentle and comforting, that PEP results provide a comprehensive assessment of their academic strengths and weaknesses.

She also suggests that parents initiate the conversation about defining learning expectations of their children and determining practical steps to achieving their academic goals.

“I don’t believe that it is a time when children need to be very sad and parents need to pass on their anxieties to children. It’s actually an opportunity for you to understand who your child is as a learner and what you can do as a parent to assist your child,” she emphasised.

During the summer break, Ms. Kerr wants parents to download the National Standards Curriculum to gain an understanding of the objectives.

She maintained that when parents are involved in the learning process, children are more likely to achieve the results they desire.

An agency of the Ministry of Education and Youth, the Commission’s mission is to assist parents in developing the skills they need to raise and protect their children. This, while encouraging a collaborative effort between home and school, so that parents and teachers may cooperate intelligently in the education of their children.

Parents can contact the Commission for support at 876-967-7777 or 876-560-9272.

Schools establishing gardens throughout the 2022/23 academic year are being encouraged to forge partnerships to sustain these over the summer.

This urging comes from Minister of Education and Youth, Hon. Fayval Williams, who said schools should look to partner with community members, parents, and groundsmen at institutions to help to sustain their gardens, “so that when they come back in September, they don’t look at it and [say], ‘it’s brown instead of green the way [we] left it’.”

She was speaking during the Jamaica Agricultural Society (JAS) ‘Women in Agriculture’ conference at the Terra Nova All-Suite Hotel in Kingston on Wednesday (June 14).

The event saw 20 women being awarded for outstanding contributions to agricultural education.

Mrs. Williams told the awardees: “For us, in our schools, like our primary schools or high schools, we’d love to hear from you, women in agriculture, as to how we can sustain the school gardens; it is a real issue, especially when schools go on summer break.”

The school garden initiative is heavily promoted by the Government, with the latest national effort executed on Labour Day, when the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining, through its agencies, assisted in the establishment of gardens at several schools.

Meanwhile, four agricultural training institutions were also recognised during Wednesday’s event.

These were the College of Agriculture, Science and Education (CASE); Dinthill Technical High School; Knockalva Polytechnic College, and HEART/NSTA Trust.

“Over many decades, education training institutions in Jamaica have provided opportunities for women to hone their skills in agricultural science, and many of our public schools have, as part of the curriculum, a component aimed at encouraging all of our students to appreciate the importance of agriculture to our economic and social lives,” the Minister said.

She informed that in 2022, a slate of interesting courses was offered by CASE. They included those that explored integrating geospatial tools in food security, education and research, targeted research and extension interventions for enhanced goat production in Jamaica, and agro-processing.

Additionally, the institution developed a mobile pineapple processing lab and partnered with several schools in the United States to expose students to different segments of the agricultural sector.

“Academic institutions and agricultural instructors have a critical role to play in empowering women in agriculture. By providing education, training, support and advocacy, they can help women succeed in this field and contribute to the growth and development of our country,” Minister Williams said.

Children with special needs in St. Elizabeth now have improved access to support services for their growth, development, and well-being at the newly established Santa Cruz Special Education Centre.

The $43 million facility, which opened its doors in April, is located at the former Santa Cruz Basic School, which was renovated through funding from the Digicel Foundation.

The centre boasts three classrooms, an assessment room, a fully refurbished kitchen, and wheelchair accessible bathrooms.

It offers a transition programme for students six to 16 years old with mild to severe intellectual and developmental disabilities.

The school currently has 28 students on roll, who were relocated from the Woodlawn School of Special Education in the parish but has capacity for 68.

The students are being supported by a principal, administrative team, classroom teachers and caregivers, behavioural and psychosocial support practitioners, and technical vocational education and training instructors.

Minister of State in the Education and Youth Ministry, Hon. Marsha Smith, who addressed the official opening ceremony on Thursday (June 8), said the establishment of the centre underscores the importance and value that the Ministry places on all children and the need for them to have equal access to education, noting that “no child should be left behind.”

She thanked the Digicel Foundation for its partnership in executing the project.

“Through your foundation, you have shown your corporate responsibility in embracing the vision [of] education for all, and we thank you for the significant investment that you have made in supporting our schools island-wide,” she said.

“We are reinforcing that the education of our children is not just the responsibility of the Education Ministry, but it’s actually a national project and so there is a place for everyone to be involved,” she noted.

Miss Smith encouraged parents to not put limitations on their special needs children.

“When you have a special child, it is easy to think that the possibilities are limited but this centre right here is going to show you otherwise,” she said.

Miss Smith said she is looking forward to the start of a Parent Place at the centre in September which, she noted, “will offer support to our parents as they journey with our children to developing into the humans they need to be, and of course, become independent and resilient.”

For her part, Acting Chief Education Officer, Dr. Kasan Troupe, noted that the Ministry is “not just about mainstreaming; we are about every single Jamaican child, so our education system was developed to ensure that our child can transform their socio-economic reality and in doing so, become the best persons that they can be.”

She noted that the school is a symbol of hope and transformation “and we are relying on every single partner to keep it alive, to keep it successful, to make it a brand [and] centre of excellence as it is designed to be. Every single [child] that comes [within] these walls is destined for greatness and this centre will enable that.”

Chief Executive Officer of the Digicel Foundation, Charmaine Daniels, for her part, said the centre serves as a symbol of inclusivity, acceptance and equal opportunity, offering a holistic approach to education.

She noted that it provides special instruction in a nurturing environment that will empower students to reach their full potential.

Students at the Santa Cruz Special Education Centre will be exposed to a curriculum for students with moderate to severe intellectual disabilities and a modified Grade 7 – 9 National Standards Curriculum covering functional literacy, functional mathematics, life skills, social studies, civics, character education, resources and technology.

To support the transition nature of the programme, students will engage in job certification skills training in agriculture science, basic food preparation, craft and décor, business basics.

Approximately 30,000 additional students, parents, and educators from 500 public schools are to be trained in restorative justice practices this fiscal year.

Minister of Education and Youth, Hon. Fayval Williams, made the disclosure during her contribution to the 2023/24 Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives on Wednesday (May 17).

In May 2022, the Ministries of Education, and Justice signed a memorandum of understanding to facilitate restorative justice training for parents, educators, and students of 207 public, primary and secondary schools.

Mrs. Williams informed that at the end of March 2023, more than 5,000 stakeholders were trained.

“Restorative justice practices training is [intended] to equip stakeholders in the educational system with conflict-management skills as a strategy to reduce the incidence of violence in schools,” she stated.

On another matter, Mrs. Williams said some 58 school leaders have been trained under the Leadership for Safer Schools (LSS) initiative, funded by the European Union (EU) Spotlight Initiative.

“This course is designed to support school leaders in creating safe environments that will reduce school-related violence and gender-based violence,” she indicated.

Mrs. Williams added that the course was designed on the premise that interventions to reduce gender-based violence must be grounded in behaviour change, brought about by the development of non-threatening school environments where the rights of children are respected and promoted.

This year, for the second time, Africa Day will be celebrated in Jamaica on May 25.

Schools are expected to plan activities with a focus on Jamaica’s African culture, under the theme ‘Celebrating Africa: Sankofa, Return to the Root’. Senior Education Officer in the Core Curriculum Unit of the Ministry of Education and Youth and Chair of the Africa Day Planning Committee, Marlon Williams, told JIS News that, last year, the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport reached out to the Education Ministry expressing the desire to have this day be recognised annually across the nation, especially in the schools.

“Celebrating Africa Day is of great importance, as it affords our students, the rest of Jamaica and the world with in-depth knowledge of Africa and provides clarity where there is misinformation,” Mr. Williams said.

Schools are asked to use an appropriate time of the day to stage a ceremony aimed at celebrating the selected country or countries and which should include the wearing of African-themed dress to school.

The focus can be on the selected country’s location, capital, population, national and official language(s), political leadership, food and other cultural expressions, national flag, motto and anthem.

Africa Day activities can include but not be limited to an African-themed fashion show supported by appropriate musical selections and other African cultural expressions that have been retained by Jamaicans, and or mounting a pictorial exhibition on the country selected.

Schools may select at least one of the following – Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa and Ethiopia to be the country of focus. Mr. Williams also said that while all schools will be celebrating the day, Buff Bay Primary School in Portland has been selected as the “Featured School” for 2023. The school will be showcasing aspects of the four countries being celebrated this year.

“They are lining up a very interesting and entertaining package for the day, which will include participation from stakeholders, such as the Maroons,” he said. “The Ministry of Education and Youth continues to place emphasis on character building among our students in all that they do. As such, the schools are being reminded to use the activities to also highlight and promote positive values and attitudes in our students as we continue to build their character,” Mr. Williams pointed out.

Teachers are being implored to make greater use of technology in the teaching and learning process, even as normality has returned to the education sector, following the COVID-19 pandemic.

Making the call, Minister of Education and Youth, Hon Fayval Williams, reiterated that technology-based education must become a permanent fixture in schools.

She was addressing the Teachers’ Colleges of Jamaica Biennial Research Conference 2023, held at the Holiday Inn Resort, Montego Bay, St James, on Wednesday (April 19).

“Government made a lot of investment in devices for our students, and we were able to get the sector through COVID. Yes, there has been learning loss, which we are making up, but the disappointing news is that now that we are post-COVID-19, we are not seeing the continuation of technology in our classrooms,” Mrs. Williams pointed out.

She stressed that the Government continues to make investments to speed up the pace at which schools employ information and communications technology (ICT) and urged teachers to capitalise on that investment.

“We have ensured… that all our primary-school teachers have laptops. Things can be downloaded and brought to the classroom. As I stand here today, we are ensuring that all of our secondary-school teachers have laptops; and we are ensuring that ICT labs in our secondary schools are upgraded,” the Minister said.

“We want to be encouraged, we want to know that the investment is not going to gather dust, that our teachers will be using [ICT in our classrooms to enrich the teaching and learning experience,” she added.

The Minister noted that half the nation’s schools have now been equipped with broadband connectivity, with plans to have Wi-Fi across all “primary, secondary, tertiary and early-childhood institutions, so that it is available in classrooms in our schools”.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Williams underscored that special development workshops and research conferences serve as critical avenues to help teachers examine new developments in pedagogy, “while at the same time improving their classroom skills”.

“As key participants and stakeholders in education, meaningful transformation can only happen if we involve your perspectives and engagement. Aligned to this must be continued professional development that keeps teachers apace with innovation and technological development in the field,” she said.

The three-day biennial research conference, which culminates on April 21, is being held under the theme ‘Preparing Teachers for The Next Education Task Force: Implications for National Development’.

The conference will provide a platform for faculty, students, local and regional and international partners to share their theoretical knowledge, research findings and pedagogical approaches with the academic community.