JIS: The Ministry of Education, Youth and Information is now accepting nominations for the 2018 Mathematics Teacher of the Year Competition.

 

Chief Education Officer, Dr. Grace McLean, said the competition is designed to promote the meaningful learning of mathematics and celebrate primary and secondary teachers who consistently apply best practices in the classroom.

 

Teachers may be nominated by a principal, colleague, an education officer or a member of the National Mathematics Team.

 

The Mathematics Teacher of the Year Competition, which is in its fifth year, is sponsored by Jamaica National (JN).

 

Prizes for the winner include a two-year membership to the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM), which is the world’s largest organisation concerned with mathematics education; a trip to Washington DC in the United States for the 2018 NCTM Conference in April; and an Apple iPad.

 

Nomination forms can be downloaded at the Ministry’s website at www.moe.gov.jm, or persons may contact any of the six regional offices across the island.

 

Deadline for the submission of nomination forms is November 30, 2017.

 

CAPTION: Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid (centre), presents teacher at the Crescent Primary School in St. Catherine, Neisha Grant Lawrence (right), with the Mathematics Teacher of the Year trophy in March. At left is Senior Manager, Learning Development Culture, Jamaica National Group, Dr. Renée Rattray.

JIS: Graduates of the Career Advancement Programme (CAP) levels two and three and the National Vocational Qualification of Jamaica (NVQ-J) level two, now have the opportunity to pursue an associate degree in occupational studies. Applications are now being accepted for the January 2018 semester from persons who wish to pursue studies under the two-year programme.

 

Areas of training include logistics, business process outsourcing (BPO), knowledge process outsourcing, manufacturing, agriculture, hospitality and renewable energy technology.

 

Persons may register at the Caribbean Maritime University, Excelsior Community College, College of Insurance & Professional Studies, Shortwood Teachers’ College, The Mico University,

 

University of the Commonwealth Caribbean (UCC), and University of Technology (UTech) Academy in Kingston; Western Hospitality Institute, St. James; Brown’s Town Community College, St. Ann; College of Agriculture, Science and Education (CASE) in Portland; G.C. Foster College of Physical Education and Sport and Portmore Community College, St. Catherine; Northern Caribbean University (NCU), Manchester; Bethlehem Moravian College. St. Elizabeth; and the Vocational Training Development Institute (VTDI) in Kingston and Manchester.

 

The associate degree programme was developed under the direction of the Centre of Occupational Studies (COS) in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, and is in response to the demands of the workplace.

 

“We at the COS were charged to create and manage a structured and coordinated approach to occupational degree certification within the Jamaica context,” explained Director of the Centre of Occupational Studies (COS), Linda Stewart-Doman.

 

She was addressing a Think Tank held recently at the Jamaica Information Service (JIS) head office in Kingston.

 

She noted that the associate degree programme was launched in December 2016, with 457 students enrolling in the pilot course that started in January 2017.

 

Chairman of the Joint Committee of Tertiary Education (JCTE), Dr. Cecil Cornwall, said the programmme trains individuals for the workplace, providing industries with qualified persons with technical competencies.

 

He explained that it is a transfer degree that allows the participants to matriculate to a baccalaureate programme at a tertiary institution if they so desire.

 

For further information, individuals may contact the COS at 967-7802, Email: [email protected] or Twitter:@COS_ODs.

 

CAPTION: Director for the Centre of Occupational Studies in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Linda Stewart-Doman, addressing a JIS Think Tank recently.

JIS: The Education, Youth and Information Ministry, through its Safety and Security Unit, is focusing on increasing the number of uniformed groups in schools.

 

Region Six Community Relations Education Officer in the Ministry, Kereen Reid-Clarke, says involvement in these groups provides opportunities for the growth and development of students.

 

“We believe that uniformed groups, especially the Fire Wardens Club, will foster a sense of discipline and also provide an avenue for students to learn and practise appropriate disaster and safety measures,” she notes.

 

Mrs. Reid-Clarke was delivering remarks at the official launch of the Jamaica Fire Brigade (JFB) Fire Wardens Club in schools, at the Greater Portmore Primary School in St. Catherine on October 26.

 

“The club will not only have an impact on the students but over time create a society which will be fully aware of how to manage, respond and recover from disasters,” she said.

 

Mrs. Reid-Clarke assured that the Ministry will continue to work with the JFB to ensure that the Fire Wardens Club initiative is available to all primary schools across the island.

 

Meanwhile, Region Six Safety and Security Coordinator in the Ministry, Carl Sterling, noted that focus is being placed on improving the safety and security committees in all high schools in Jamaica.

 

“The Ministry is committed to ensuring that we create an environment that is safe for our students to learn and for them to experience all that they can, so that they become productive members of society,” he said.

 

Deputy Superintendent of the JFB, James Lee, said the Fire Wardens Club represents a far-reaching initiative that seeks to engage and empower students and their parents in fire safety.

 

He said its launch is timely, as the JFB observes Fire Safety Awareness Week from October 22-28 under the theme ‘Empowering our People for a Fire-Safe Jamaica’.

 

“We are expecting other schools to come on board, so that the initiative can spread. We’re hoping that through it we can have prospective firemen and (fire)women,” he said.

 

Resident Representative of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Kenji Tobita, said his agency, which is funding the Fire Wardens Club in schools initiative, has been helping Jamaica in the area of disaster risk reduction, as the island is prone to disasters just like Japan.

 

He said through cooperation, JICA has dispatched disaster risk-reduction personnel to provide training in this regard.

 

Born out of the Disaster Risk Reduction Education in Primary Schools, the Fire Wardens Club is the brainchild of District Officer of the JFB, Heather Williams.

 

It is an education-based extracurricular programme in primary schools with the purpose of empowering children with the right knowledge, skills and attitudes to prepare for, respond to and to recover from disasters.

 

The vision of the club is to develop a culture of disaster risk reduction in homes and communities towards building Jamaica’s resilience to natural disasters.

 

Clubs, which will require members to wear their JFB-designated uniforms, hold regular weekly meetings for an hour.

 

The children engage in discussions on certain topics such as natural hazards and disasters, rescue techniques, basic first aid, volunteerism, fire brigade knowledge and foot drills.

 

The launch was attended by several schools based in St. Catherine, including: McCook Primary, Marlie Mount Primary and Infant, Kensington Primary, Old Harbour Primary, Ensom City Primary, Independence City Primary and Crescent Primary.

 

Students from McCook Primary and Greater Portmore Primary participated in the display of accident rescue and the demonstration of the use of a fire extinguisher

 

CAPTION: Region Six Community Relations Education Officer in the Education, Youth and Information Ministry, Kereen Reid-Clarke (left), converses with Resident Representative of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Kenji Tobita (right), during the launch of the Fire Wardens Club in schools at the Greater Portmore Primary School in St. Catherine on October 26. At centre is Region Six Safety and Security Coordinator in the Ministry, Carl Sterling.

JIS: As the parent of a hearing-impaired teenager, Marcia Hunter welcomes the Partnership for Literacy Enhancement for the Deaf Project, which, she says, will open up academic opportunities for her daughter and positively impact her future ambitions.

 

In an interview with JIS News, Ms. Hunter says her 18-year-old daughter, who attends the Lister Mair/Gilby High School for the Deaf, puts no limits on herself.

 

The talented teen, who is in Grade 12, already has a distinction in Visual Arts at the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) level, and is preparing to sit additional examinations in Mathematics, Accounts and Information Technology (IT) in 2018.

 

The proud mother who supports her ambitious daughter in her pursuit of a career as a teacher of the deaf in visual arts or mathematics, says the project is a positive step in the right direction to foster greater inclusion and opportunities for members of the deaf community.

 

For his part, State Minister for Education, Youth and Information, Hon. Floyd Green, hails the initiative, which he says is in line with the Government’s national development agenda, which seeks to ensure that every member of society is included in the process.

 

“If we are to truly move Jamaica forward, it must be with an effective education system that leaves no child behind,” Mr. Green asserts.

 

Launched in September, the three-year project aims to realise five major objectives, including an increase in the number of deaf students functioning at age-appropriate levels for literacy development by 10 percentage points in all schools operated by the major service providers of deaf education in Jamaica.

 

These are the Danny Williams School for the Deaf; Lister Mair/Gilby High School for the Deaf; and Excelsior Primary School Integrated Unit for the Deaf, in Kingston; Caribbean Christian Centre for the Deaf – Kingston and Mandeville campuses; Jamaica Christian School for the Deaf, St. James; May Pen Unit for the Deaf, Clarendon; Port Antonio Unit for the Deaf, Portland and St. Christopher’s School for the Deaf, St. Ann.

 

Activities to be implemented to achieve this objective include diagnostic assessment of vulnerable students, specially designed reading competitions and workshops, reading boot camps and educational field trips.

 

The second objective is the development of a Jamaican Sign Language (JSL) curriculum to be incorporated in schools for the deaf by 2020.

 

It is expected that this will assist in developing students’ comprehension and critical thinking skills as well as act as a catalyst for students to access higher education.

 

Pointing out that deaf persons using JSL have difficulty communicating written thoughts, Ms. Hunter says that the project comes at an opportune time, as it will assist her daughter in her exam preparations.

 

“With the Literacy in English Language, it will improve her grammar and bring more awareness about language arts. It will also assist her in her exams and improve her ability to relate to a hearing person in terms of her writing,” she adds.

 

Two other significant goals of the project are to have a minimum of 75 per cent of all teachers advancing at least two levels of JSL Communicative Competence at the end of the project; and to empower parents of the deaf to effectively parent and communicate with their children.

 

To achieve this, the Jamaica Association for the Deaf (JAD) will be teaching parents sign language and effective parenting strategies. They will also be coached on how to read with their children using sign language, through the JAD’s Shared Reading Programme.

 

Ms. Hunter, who is attending sign language classes at JAD, says being able to communicate properly with her child is important as this is the only way she can nurture the critical parent-child relationship, and is encouraging all persons, particularly parents with hearing-impaired children, to learn this language.

 

“You have to find time for your child, especially if he or she has special needs. You need to be able to communicate with your child,” she says.

 

Meanwhile, Project Manager, Tisha Ewen-Smith, says that with more than 90 per cent of students across the island’s primary and secondary schools for the deaf functioning below the expected grade levels in reading comprehension, the project will equip these children with the necessary skills to advance to higher education and improve their outcomes as adults.

 

“The goal of the project is to increase the literacy level of deaf children in all schools operated by the major service providers of deaf education in Jamaica… and ensure equal access as clients, students and, most importantly, as citizens of Jamaica,” she says.

 

The programme will impact more than 400 deaf children and their families as well as 100 educators in nine participating schools for the deaf.

 

The Partnership for Literacy Enhancement for the Deaf Project is slated to run from April 2017 to April 2020, and is being implemented by the JAD, in partnership with international funding agency, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

 

CAPTION: State Minister for Education, Youth and Information, Hon. Floyd Green (right), spells his name in sign language during the launch of the Partnership for Literacy Enhancement for the Deaf Project at the Terra Nova All-Suite Hotel in Kingston recently. The project aims to increase the literacy level of hearing-impaired children. It is being implemented by the Jamaica Association for the Deaf (JAD), in partnership with international funding agency, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Observing are Acting Mission Director for USAID, Rebecca Robinson (centre) and Chairman of the Executive Board of the Jamaica Association for the Deaf, Christopher Williams.

JIS: The University of the West Indies (UWI) has developed material designed to assist in improving media and information literacy in primary and secondary schools islandwide.

 

This was disclosed by Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport Minister, Hon. Olivia Grange, who said the undertaking is a collaboration involving the United Nations, Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Broadcasting Commission and the Joint Board of Teacher Education.

 

“I am pleased to learn that an outcome of this collaboration is that media literacy will be embedded into the curriculum of local teacher-training colleges,” she further disclosed.

 

The Minister was speaking at the opening ceremony for the global media and information literacy conference at the Jamaica Conference Centre in downtown Kingston on October 25.

 

Ms. Grange said it is essential that Jamaicans be able to deconstruct media products in order to evaluate their contents; assign social, cultural and/or economic value to the content; and leverage information and communication tools in their development goals.

 

“In short, our aim must be to develop the critical thinking skills of our citizens, especially our young citizens, whose upbringing and socialising are influenced by the media,” she said.

 

The Minister contended that in the existing digital age, persons should have the skills to critically analyse and use media and information.

 

“Concerns about the impact of media on society, particularly on young people, have resonated for as long as traditional media have existed. But things have to change dramatically,” she added.

 

Ms. Grange said, over time, consumers have become more active in terms of the media and information they receive.

 

This, she said, can be attributed to more access to information, more sources of information where mediated forms of communicated are the primary means of delivering information and knowledge, and where misinformation and fake news are unfortunate realities in today’s world.

 

Activities marking Global Media and Information Literacy Week 2017 are being held under the theme ‘Media and Information Literacy in Critical Times: Reimagining Ways of Learning and Information Environments’. The week runs from October 25 to November 1.

 

CAPTION: Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Hon. Olivia Grange (second left), shares pleasantries with (from left) President, International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions, Gloria Pérez-Salmerón; Executive Director, Broadcasting Commission of Jamaica and Chairman for the Information Advisory Committee, Jamaica National Commission for UNESCO, Cordel Green; and Chair, International Conference on Media and Information Literacy and Intercultural Dialogue, (MILID), Esther Hamburger, during the opening ceremony of the Global Media and Information Literacy conference at the Jamaica Conference Centre in downtown Kingston on October 25.

JIS: The National Parenting Support Commission (NPSC) is imploring parents to become the primary influencers in the lives of their children, in order to create more positive outcomes for their future.

 

Speaking at a recent JIS Think Tank, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the NPSC, Kaysia Kerr, said that the responsibility of the parent is a major one, which cannot be taken lightly.

 

She said that there has been a gradual shift in responsibility, which has contributed to a decline in values, accountability and integrity in the society.

 

“We encourage parents not to give up the reins of leadership to external individuals or entities. We must recognise that we are the first role models for our children and they depend on us for guidance,” said Ms. Kerr.

 

She argued that the danger of reneging on one’s role and responsibility as a parent is that an avenue opens up for negative forces to become the role models for children.

 

“We have seen where young people are increasingly idolising and emulating a number of players in both local and international popular culture, some of whose values may be questionable, and the effects are being felt in the display of deviant behaviour within our society,” she pointed out.

 

Ms. Kerr said the NPSC is committed to empowering parents with the necessary information and guidance to ensure that they are fully equipped to lay the proper foundation for the development of their children.

 

“We want to remind parents that the concept of leading by example is not just a cliché. If we are going to make any inroads into addressing some of the existing social ills, we must begin at home by modelling ideal behaviour patterns for our children,” she pointed out.

 

The NPSC is making preparations for Parent Month in November, during which a number of activities will be held under the theme ‘Be the Influence’.

 

Among them are parent villages in Kingston and Montego Bay, a national church service as well as sensitisation sessions in several communities across the island.

 

CAPTION: Chief Executive Officer of the National Parenting Support Commission (NPSC), Kaysia Kerr, addresses a Think Tank held at the Jamaica Information Service (JIS) headquarters in Kingston.

OBSERVER: Using a smartphone to take photographs and videos for posting online doesn’t begin to explore the extent to how this tech-savvy generation can benefit from the capabilities of modern information communication technology (ICT), according to one educator.

 

The possibilities for teaching and learning are, instead, what should take priority.

 

Newly appointed regional director for the Ministry of Education’s Region 6 (Clarendon and St Catherine) Elaine Roulston, said that with technology so accessible, students can use it to their advantage to do research and easily learn at their own pace.

 

“Thanks to the Internet and mobile technology, students and any other learner, for that matter, can access information on any of the wide range of subjects that you now do or you now pursue in our education system,” she said.

 

Roulston was speaking last Friday at a ceremony in which Member of Parliament for Clarendon North Western Richard Azan, for the fifth consecutive year, presented cheques to seven schools for vocational projects. The ceremony was held at Spalding High School.

 

Roulston said that careers in digitisation and animation are now options because of the innovations in technology.

 

She said improving basic education and literacy, online tertiary studies, acquiring a foreign language and meeting students at the level of their learning are also critical areas that can be effortlessly facilitated.

 

“Because there is educational material from the kindergarten level to the university level, computer technology can and does enhance literacy development. One needs just to look at how how enthused and how motivated the children are when they take out their tablets. At this point in time, I just want to give kudos to those who conceptualised the whole matter of the Tablets in School Programme,” said Roulston.

 

The senior educator said that she is envisioning a time in the future when all school materials can be loaded on to tablets, and children do not have to carry around the number of books that are weighing them down.

 

Coming on the heels of National Heroes’ Day celebrations, Roulston said that she believes that looking at how technology is changing and improving what can be achieved, compared to previous years, is as important as reflecting on what our heroes have done.

 

Last month’s International Literacy Day theme, Literacy in a Digital World, also sparked discussion about the far-reaching benefits of technology.

 

Steven Williams, a systems administrator and teacher at Knox Community College, in a presentation to a gathering of teachers, students and other education stakeholders from Manchester and St Elizabeth, at a function in Mandeville, said that best practices in literacy are evolving through collaboration with other professionals who are accessible 24 hours.

 

Advancements in education are among the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

 

CAPTION: Regional director for the Ministry of Education’s Region 6 Elaine Roulston advocates the use of modern technology in teaching and learning at a handover ceremony for vocational project cheques at Spalding High School last Friday. 

GLEANER: With the importance being placed on students’ mastery of technical and vocational skills, along with academics, seven high schools across northwest Clarendon will benefit from a recent grant of $3.5 million from Member of Parliament Richard Azan through his Constituency Development Fund.

 

The funds will be used to provide or improve facilities that will afford students the opportunity to be formally trained in agriculture, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, building technology, cosmetology, information communications technology (ICT) and carpentry, among others. The beneficiaries for 2017 are Alston High, Knox College High, Thompson Town High, Claude McKay High, Edwin Allen High, C Palmer Project Hope School and Spalding High.

 

In his remarks at the handover ceremony held at Spalding High School on Friday, October 20, Azan advised that it makes no sense a student leaves high school with 13 Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) subjects and no skill. He also disclosed plans to impact the primary and infant schools and provide parents with the training needed so that they can add value to their children’s lives.

 

The vocational project, which has been in existence for approximately five years, greatly benefited several schools last year. According to Richard Williams, head of the agriculture department at Alston High, the school was able to expand its poultry house to 400 square feet, increase its poultry stock and purchase a de-feathering machine with the $500,000 grant it received last year.

 

Principal of Spalding High School, George Henry also made mention of his school’s accomplishments through the grant. “We have seen significant improvements in the number of percentage pass rates in various subjects in the industrial arts and economics departments. The allocation allowed us to acquire much needed equipment for these areas,” Henry reported. “This resulted in 100 per cent pass rate for CSEC examinations in food and nutrition, clothing & textile, and cosmetology.

 

We saw 100 percent pass rate in the 2017 sitting of the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination for our newly added courses in electrical and electronic engineering technology,” he added.

 

Knox College High, a beneficiary in 2016, has had many successes in building expansion, acquiring appliances and recruiting additional teachers for specialised skills, according to Principal Alexander Bourne. He revealed that in 2017 the school will expand its offerings in ICT, increasing the supply of computers and installing an intranet facility for the school community.

 

Thompson Town and Claude McKay high schools, which receives students whose academic averages are many times in the single digits, reported that these technical and vocational programmes result in their students doing well in external exams.

 

Meanwhile, Wayne Batiste, representative at the HEART Trust/NTA, noted that In addition to students who benefit directly from the technical and vocational programmes, these programmes are for the betterment of the country.

 

“Usually, the ages that are of concern are 17-24, which usually comprise youth at risk; if we don’t impact those persons (through these kinds of programmes), then the future is going to be in trouble.”

 

CAPTION: Mechanical engineering students arranging items they have made for display

JIS: The Joint Committee for Tertiary Education (JCTE), in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, will host the third International Conference on Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) from November 29 to December 1 at the Holiday Inn Resort in Montego Bay.

 

The JCTE’s Senior Marketing and Business Development Consultant and Conference Chair, Jacqueline Knight-Campbell, says the event will bring together individuals and organisations that are collaborating to develop the education sector.

 

“It will explore the building of educational partnerships; strategic leadership for institutional growth development; and professional development in higher education”, she said.

 

She was speaking at a Jamaica Information Service (JIS) Think Tank at the agency’s head office in Kingston on Tuesday, October 24.

 

The conference, which will also be supported by Delaware State University in the United States, will include concurrent sessions, workshops, exhibitions and panel discussions.

 

Among the key events are a power breakfast, where heads of local and international companies will engage representatives from educational institutions in dialogue; and an awards ceremony to recognise outstanding educators, the Tertiary Student of the Year and outstanding corporate local and international individuals who have made indelible contributions to education.

 

“It is a leadership conference that will provide the platform for building awareness on the readiness, activities and international exposure and exchange of what is happening in education,” Mrs. Knight-Campbell said.

 

Additionally, she said persons are being invited to present research papers at the conference that should be submitted to the JCTE by Thursday, November 9.

 

The focus areas include developing partnerships for an integrated approach to internationalising tertiary education; enhancing career through networking industry certification and professional organisations; and financing tertiary education for growth and sustainability, both locally and internationally. For further information on registration for the conference, persons may email the

 

JCTE at: [email protected], and for the submission of research papers: [email protected]. Persons may also call 632-4136, 616-7620 or visit www.ucj.org.jm.

 

CAPTION: Senior Marketing and Business Development Consultant for the Joint Committee for Tertiary Education and Chair of the Education and TVET Conference, Jacqueline Knight-Campbell, speaking at a Jamaica Information Service (JIS) Think Tank on Tuesday, October 24.

JIS: As the parent of a hearing-impaired teenager, Marcia Hunter welcomes the Partnership for Literacy Enhancement for the Deaf Project, which, she says, will open up academic opportunities for her daughter and positively impact her future ambitions.

 

In an interview with JIS News, Ms. Hunter says her 18-year-old daughter, who attends the Lister Mair/Gilby High School for the Deaf, puts no limits on herself.

 

The talented teen, who is in Grade 12, already has a distinction in Visual Arts at the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) level, and is preparing to sit additional examinations in Mathematics, Accounts and Information Technology (IT) in 2018.

 

The proud mother who supports her ambitious daughter in her pursuit of a career as a teacher of the deaf in visual arts or mathematics, says the project is a positive step in the right direction to foster greater inclusion and opportunities for members of the deaf community.

 

For his part, State Minister for Education, Youth and Information, Hon. Floyd Green, hails the initiative, which he says is in line with the Government’s national development agenda, which seeks to ensure that every member of society is included in the process.

 

“If we are to truly move Jamaica forward, it must be with an effective education system that leaves no child behind,” Mr. Green asserts.

 

Launched in September, the three-year project aims to realise five major objectives, including an increase in the number of deaf students functioning at age-appropriate levels for literacy development by 10 percentage points in all schools operated by the major service providers of deaf education in Jamaica.

 

These are the Danny Williams School for the Deaf; Lister Mair/Gilby High School for the Deaf; and Excelsior Primary School Integrated Unit for the Deaf, in Kingston; Caribbean Christian Centre for the Deaf – Kingston and Mandeville campuses; Jamaica Christian School for the Deaf, St. James; May Pen Unit for the Deaf, Clarendon; Port Antonio Unit for the Deaf, Portland and St. Christopher’s School for the Deaf, St. Ann.

 

Activities to be implemented to achieve this objective include diagnostic assessment of vulnerable students, specially designed reading competitions and workshops, reading boot camps and educational field trips.

 

The second objective is the development of a Jamaican Sign Language (JSL) curriculum to be incorporated in schools for the deaf by 2020.

 

It is expected that this will assist in developing students’ comprehension and critical thinking skills as well as act as a catalyst for students to access higher education.

 

Pointing out that deaf persons using JSL have difficulty communicating written thoughts, Ms. Hunter says that the project comes at an opportune time, as it will assist her daughter in her exam preparations.

 

“With the Literacy in English Language, it will improve her grammar and bring more awareness about language arts. It will also assist her in her exams and improve her ability to relate to a hearing person in terms of her writing,” she adds.

 

Two other significant goals of the project are to have a minimum of 75 per cent of all teachers advancing at least two levels of JSL Communicative Competence at the end of the project; and to empower parents of the deaf to effectively parent and communicate with their children.

 

To achieve this, the Jamaica Association for the Deaf (JAD) will be teaching parents sign language and effective parenting strategies. They will also be coached on how to read with their children using sign language, through the JAD’s Shared Reading Programme.

 

Ms. Hunter, who is attending sign language classes at JAD, says being able to communicate properly with her child is important as this is the only way she can nurture the critical parent-child relationship, and is encouraging all persons, particularly parents with hearing-impaired children, to learn this language.

 

“You have to find time for your child, especially if he or she has special needs. You need to be able to communicate with your child,” she says.

 

Meanwhile, Project Manager, Tisha Ewen-Smith, says that with more than 90 per cent of students across the island’s primary and secondary schools for the deaf functioning below the expected grade levels in reading comprehension, the project will equip these children with the necessary skills to advance to higher education and improve their outcomes as adults.

 

“The goal of the project is to increase the literacy level of deaf children in all schools operated by the major service providers of deaf education in Jamaica… and ensure equal access as clients, students and, most importantly, as citizens of Jamaica,” she says.

 

The programme will impact more than 400 deaf children and their families as well as 100 educators in nine participating schools for the deaf.

 

The Partnership for Literacy Enhancement for the Deaf Project is slated to run from April 2017 to April 2020, and is being implemented by the JAD, in partnership with international funding agency, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

 

CAPTION: State Minister for Education, Youth and Information, Hon. Floyd Green (right), spells his name in sign language during the launch of the Partnership for Literacy Enhancement for the Deaf Project at the Terra Nova All-Suite Hotel in Kingston recently. The project aims to increase the literacy level of hearing-impaired children. It is being implemented by the Jamaica Association for the Deaf (JAD), in partnership with international funding agency, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Observing are Acting Mission Director for USAID, Rebecca Robinson (centre) and Chairman of the Executive Board of the Jamaica Association for the Deaf, Christopher Williams.