GLEANER: Changing demands and new imperatives have propelled school leadership as a policy priority for governments around the world. Increasingly, countries are seeking to align their education systems to the needs of the modern world, and so the expectations of school leaders have changed profoundly.

 

The competencies now demanded for effective school leadership include the ability to set vision and strategise, lead the change agenda, engage in systems thinking, demonstrate a sense of service and community, work collaboratively in teams, and display ethics and integrity.

 

Essentially, there is a demand for a set of school leaders who are able to provide adaptive and creative solutions for the challenges that confront the modern world and the capacity to transform their schools into visionary entities. Leadership development, then, for educational leaders, must be competency based, relevant, flexible, practical, and peer-oriented so as to respond to the existing and emerging exigencies of our schools and school systems.

 

The Ministry of Education, Youth and Information has placed a high priority on developing leadership in education and on bringing greater accountability to the system, given its awareness of leadership development as not only an individual, but also as an institutional responsibility.

 

The ministry’s efforts have been evidenced in the recommendations and subsequent implementations of the National Task Force on Educational Reform Jamaica, 2004. The report outlined a new model of governance in which governance and management at the regional and school levels would be strengthened through the training and certification of all school managers. The report stated that to be successful, schools needed:

 

– a strong and effective board;

 

– a responsive principal displaying strong leadership;

 

– responsibility for the management of the teaching profession by principals, vice-principals, and heads of department; and

 

– an articulated shared vision of success around which stakeholders align strategic planning and monitoring to achieve the vision.

 

The National College for Educational Leadership (NCEL) was a direct response to the recommendations outlined and was established and given the responsibility to develop excellent leadership in the island’s public schools and supporting institutions.

 

The NCEL leads strategic initiatives to improve leadership, facilitate the provision of support, and create local leadership networks in conjunction with the Regional Offices, the National Education Inspectorate, the Jamaica Teaching Council, and the National Council on Education.

 

It serves the development needs of school leaders from aspiring to experienced principals of primary, secondary, and tertiary institutions, Education Officers and School Bursars. Since its inception, the college has trained over 75 per cent of the island’s principals in its flagship programme, the Effective Principals’ Training Programme (EPTP).

 

 

 

PRACTICE OF LEADERSHIP

 

 

The EPTP is designed to serve the developmental needs of system and school leaders through the emphasis of the practice of leadership more than the theory and the scaffolding of leadership competencies rather than the acquisition of concepts. Principals who have been exposed to this programme have displayed transforming attitudes, beliefs, and practices in the areas of teaching and learning, leadership, collaboration, and accountability.

 

Kasan Troupe, former principal of Denbigh High School and currently serving as a regional director of the MOEYI, indicated the benefits accrued from leadership development offered by the National College. “NCEL has helped tremend-ously. The EPTP has brought insights to my leadership. We have explored a number of courses that helped me to become more effective on the job.

 

“NCEL is doing a phenomenal job, and I would encourage every principal to get involved. Whether or not you feel you are good at what you do, it is always good to refresh yourselves and listen to your colleagues. NCEL brings people together in one forum to discuss, to share, and to gain insights from each other. I have utilised the skills that I have learnt from the programme, and I am now better able to advance the education system.”

 

Adrian Sinclair, principal of Effortville Primary, recounted how being on the programme helped him in his leadership journey.

 

He recalled: “Before being on the Effective Principals’ Training Programme, I saw that being a principal as one of having to monitor the affairs of the office. I have learnt through this programme how to communicate with staff, students, and how to ensure effective communication between staff, parents, and stakeholders within the school community. I learnt the weaknesses and strengths of my team and so was able to teach them how to not just follow the leader, but to have a significant role to play in the decision-making process.”

 

The Park Mountain Primary School Community in St Elizabeth has benefited from the vision of their principal, Karlene Williams- Heath, who has been through two of NCEL’s programmes and has been exemplary in both.

 

She noted: “Being engaged with NCEL has definitely changed my landscape. It has changed the way I view leadership.”

 

She has moved up through the ranks of leadership from classroom teacher to senior teacher, vice-principal and principal and so has had the opportunity to see and provide leadership at different levels.

 

She said that before engaging with NCEL, she saw leadership as being able to control students and getting teachers to work. Having been exposed to the multimodal and post-training experience activities offered in the programme William-Heath now sees things from a different perspective.

 

She has now formulated her own policy called the “ABC of Creating and Effective Organisation … A for Accountability; B for Building Best Practices; C for Communicating a Community Spirit of High Performance.”

 

Williams-Heath has proved that as a young principal, leadership development was critical in equipping her with the requisite skills and competencies to effect the transformational changes that she wanted to make at her school.

 

The core of leadership development for NCEL is about transforming attitudes, beliefs, and practices so that greater emphasis can be placed on learning, collaboration, and accountability.

 

This kind of transformation will not be achieved through academic qualifications alone. The right training combined with the right qualities can give the results that all Jamaicans need to see in our schools.

 

The NCEL has committed to engaging principals and providing them with contextual, practical, and rigorous leadership-development interventions.

 

The college believes that the quality development and training that principals receive before they enter the profession and the ongoing professional development afforded them throughout their careers are critical to their success in combating the many challenges that come with the role and to securing the educational fortunes of all Jamaican children.

 

– Article courtesy of Ministry of Education, Youth and Information

 

CAPTION: Kasan Troupe, former principal of Denbigh High School, and current Regional Director of MOEYI.

JIS: Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, has indicated that attaining universal numeracy at the primary level of the education system is a priority.

 

“That will take some time. The last time I checked, we were in the region of about 60 per cent of students attaining mastery in the national numeracy exams at grade four,” he noted.

 

He was speaking on a motion brought by Member of Parliament for Central Kingston, Rev. Ronnie Thwaites in the House of Representatives on Tuesday (June 6), regarding measures to improve the standard of performance in mathematics and science.

 

Prime Minister Holness said that while the pass rate is “not satisfactory… it was better than where we were 10 years ago; so, we have seen improvements”.

 

“Yes, we need to redouble our efforts, look at new measures, but we need to support the measures that already exist,” he added.

 

Mr. Holness cited the need for more trained teachers in the system and a change in how persons view maths, in order to improve performance of students in the subject. “Maths is [a] universal language, and every Jamaican should be conversant in it,” he pointed out.

 

In an effort to improve the quality of teaching, more maths specialists and coaches have been deployed to schools islandwide.

 

There is also the provision of job-embedded professional development and the training of principals and heads of departments to improve the leadership of mathematics in primary and secondary schools.

 

Between 2015 and 2016, the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information funded the award of more than 200 scholarships for student-teachers, with 168 specialising in mathematics education.

 

CAPTION: Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, emphasises a point, while addressing the House of Representatives on Tuesday (June 6).

JIS: Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid, is saluting the thousands of Jamaican parents who, he said, are making “Herculean sacrifices” every day for the welfare of their children.

 

He said the nation’s parents rank among the best in going the extra mile in order to ensure that their children can have the opportunities they might have missed, “because of the ups and downs of life”.

 

Senator Reid, who was speaking at the National Parenting Support Commission’s (NPSC’s) parents’ graduation ceremony in Montego Bay recently, said that “contrary to what some people think, there are thousands of dedicated, selfless, loving, God-fearing, hard-working and trustworthy parents in Jamaica”.

 

“Sometimes we are so focused, so fixated on the bad parents that we lose sight of the reality that there are thousands of good parents, who are doing a great job,” he pointed out.

 

Senator Reid noted that one of the duties of parents is to ensure that their children are better off economically, educationally and socially.

 

“Too often, we forget about that father out there in the breadbasket parish of St. Elizabeth, who gets up at five in the morning and walks a quarter mile to cut grass for his livestock. He does this because he has a son in sixth form at St. Elizabeth Technical High School who wants to become an electrical engineer,” he said.

 

The Minister also hailed the role of the grandparents, who “give of their last morsel of strength to ensure that children who are left in their care, are given the best opportunity to achieve”.

 

“There are hundreds of these heroes throughout the length and breadth of Jamaica,” he noted.

 

He said recognition must be given to the foster-parents, “whose contributions sometimes get lost in the shadows.”

 

“I want to reiterate that foster-parents are an important part of the family wheel. They help to move this country forward. We need more foster-parents,” he said.

 

CAPTION: Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid.

JIS: Education, Youth and Information Minister, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid, says the Ministry is taking additional steps to assist the parents of infants who are autistic, in their preparations for the youngsters’ entry into the school system.

 

Among the measures, he said, are sensitization engagements to be administered by the Early Childhood Commission (ECC) in relation to the Ministry’s special education programme for children with autism.

 

It is anticipated that this intervention will greatly assist the parents while dispelling fear which the Minister said some of them had about the programme.

 

“We are going to be laying the foundation for children to do much better and (hopefully) there will be less fear of special education. We have developed a Child Development Passport through which, from birth, we can track the development of every child,” Senator Reid said.

 

He assured parents that where their children’s learning progress was deemed delayed, the Ministry would effect the appropriate interventions to address this.

 

The Minister was speaking at the opening of a special education unit and resource centre at Harmons Primary and Infant School in Manchester on June 1.

 

The facility’s development was funded by bauxite company, Jamalco, at a cost of over US$20,000.

 

Senator Reid said the first 1,000 days of children’s lives were the most critical period of their growth, noting that 80 per cent of their brain development occurred at this stage.

 

He argued that consequent on this, parents had a pivotal role to play in aiding their children’s advancement at this stage, thereby ensuring their readiness for entry into the school system.

 

Meanwhile, Senator Reid lauded entities and stakeholders, like Jamalco, for undertaking engagements which serve to enrich the teaching/learning experience for students and teachers.

 

He also praised Harmons Primary School’s Principal, Georgia Waugh-Richards, for exhibiting initiative and the visionary leadership that resulted in the centre’s development.

 

Jamalco’s Director of Lands and Mines, Timothy O’Driscoll, said the entity welcomed the opportunity to undertake the project at Harmons Primary, which entailed extensive refurbishing of an unused building at the school, while indicating that additional work was slated to be carried out.

 

“The area around the building will be totally landscaped to make it more easily accessible for children with special needs,” he informed.

 

Mr. O’Driscoll pointed out that Jamalco invests $10 million annually in education-related projects such as scholarships, training for at-risk youth and infrastructure development projects.

 

“As we continue to assist, we urge all parents, particularly those of children with special needs, to be fully involved in the development of their children. This is important. Do not deny them access to quality education by locking them away. Each child, regardless of their special education needs, deserves quality education,” he underscored.

 

Mrs. Waugh-Richards, who gave an overview of the centre from conception to completion, expressed gratitude for the support enabling its development.

 

CAPTION: Education, Youth and Information Minister (2nd right), along with (from left): Director of Lands and Mines at Jamalco, Timothy O’Driscoll; and Principal of Harmons Primary and Infant School in Manchester, Georgia Waugh-Richards, listen as Pastor for the Porus Circuit of Baptist Churches, Rev. Zereal Williams, dedicates the Special Education Unit and Resource Centre at the institution on June 1.

JIS: One hundred and sixty-eight high schools are now in a state of readiness to facilitate students in the study of entrepreneurship for the 2017/18 academic year, which begins in September.

 

This is done under the Junior Achievement Company of Entrepreneurs (JACE) Secondary Early Entrepreneurial Development (SEED) programme, which is a three-year agreement between the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and Junior Achievement Jamaica (JAJ).

 

The initiative, which was launched late April by State Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Hon. Floyd Green, aims to stimulate the students’ interest in business.

 

Director of Regional Educational Services in the Ministry, Kasan Troupe, said the regional directors have completed meetings with JAJ in this regard.

 

“Each director is now looking at the schools to decide how we are going to timetable this. The subject will be paired with our resource and technology programme,” she informed.

 

Mrs. Troupe was speaking to JIS News at JAJ’s fifth annual Champions for Youth Awards and Silent Auction held at The Knutsford Court Hotel in New Kingston on May 31.

 

The entrepreneurship programme will offer real-life experiences that will build knowledge, capacity and confidence in young people and assist them in forming their own businesses.

 

Mrs. Troupe informed that delivery of the subject in the first half of the academic year will focus on “giving the theory and the skill set to the children as it relates to business”.

 

She also informed that come January to June 2018, “students will actually be doing the business itself, the application and examining the foundations of setting up a business and applying the skills”.

 

Teachers will also benefit, as they will undergo training in preparation to teach the subject.

 

Meanwhile, the Champions for Youth Awards and Silent Auction seeks to recognise the most outstanding organisation and teachers in each parish, as well as companies and institutions that were considered the most impactful in helping Junior Achievement to reach its goal of empowering more than 10,000 youth with entrepreneurship skills during 2016/17.

 

President of JAJ, Alphie Mullings-Aiken, said the students impacted represent a wide cross section, because “every student should and will understand how to run a business”.

 

Among the teachers recognised are Tamar Myles of Wolmer’s Boys’ School in St. Andrew, Kimoy Benjamin of the Kellits Primary in Clarendon, Michelle Bennett of York Castle High School in St.

 

Ann, Racquel Ambersley from Mount Alvernia High School in St. James, Kerrion Palmer from Avocat Primary and Junior High in Trelawny, and Margaret Muschette Phillips from Kingston College.

 

The President’s Award went to the Gleaner and the Financial Services Commission for the support given to JAJ.

 

CAPTION: (Left to right): Teachers Racquel Ambersley from Mount Alvernia High School in St. James, Kerrion Palmer from Avocat Primary and Junior High in Trelawny, Kimoy Benjamin from Kellits Primary in Clarendon, and Margaret Muschette Phillips from Kingston College, display their awards at the Junior Achievement Jamaica’s fifth annual Champions for Youth Awards Banquet and Silent Auction, at The Knutsford Court Hotel in New Kingston on May 31.

JIS: State Minister for Education, Youth and Information, Hon. Floyd Green, is encouraging children to speak out against abuse.

 

Mr. Green said that while there has been an increase in the number of reported cases of child abuse by adults, there is still an issue of under-reporting, with only one out of 10 adults making reports.

 

He was speaking at the Reaching Individuals through Skills and Education (RISE) Life Management Services ‘Finding My Voice’ programme closing expo and concert, held on May 31 at Emancipation Park in Kingston,

 

“That is why we must have programmes that empower our children to speak up. That is why this ‘Finding My Voice’ programme is so important. It tells children about their rights and encourages them to speak if they are being abused, because we understand that we can’t depend on the adults only,” the State Minister said.

 

Mr. Green also encouraged children to make use of the resources available to them to report abuse.

 

“Children, we want you to know that if you are in a difficult situation, if you are being abused, you must say something. Go to your guidance counsellor, go to the Office of the Children’s Registry (OCR) or the Child Development Agency (CDA), and tell them what is happening to you,” the State Minister added.

 

Meanwhile, Head of Delegation of the European Union (EU) to Jamaica, Malgorzata Wasilewska, said the EU remains committed to working with the Government and its partners to defend the rights of all persons.

 

“Children are particularly vulnerable, and so we must each make a commitment to do better in terms of protecting them. Children, everywhere, who are experiencing, or who feel threatened, must feel comfortable to tell someone and get the support they deserve. This means that all Jamaicans must become part of the solution. This entails doing all we can to develop positive relationships with the children in our care and helping them to feel safe enough to enjoy their childhood,” she said.

 

Executive Director of RISE, Sonita Abrahams, told JIS News the initiative has accomplished its goal of training persons in abuse prevention and promoting human rights.

 

“We have trained over 28,000 young people. We have gone around the island and have done sessions in the classroom with primary-school children. We have also done training with parents and guidance counsellors in the prevention of sexual abuse against children. The whole idea is to teach young people and parents how to be safe and to recognise if there is an abuse situation going on, and encourage children to speak up,” she explained.

 

Mrs. Abrahams added that while RISE will continue to promote the initiative on its social media platform, Facebook and the ‘Finding My Voice’ music project, more public- and private-sector involvement is necessary to end child abuse.

 

The EU-funded ‘Finding My Voice’ National Programme on the Prevention of Child Abuse is an 18-month intervention aimed at the promotion and protection of the rights of children.

 

It has directly impacted an estimated 1.4 million persons islandwide through its multimedia public-education campaign on the prevention of sexual violence against children.

 

CAPTION: State Minister for Education, Youth and Information, Hon. Floyd Green (left), addresses the Reaching Individuals through Skills and Education (RISE) Life Management Services ‘Finding My Voice’ programme closing ceremony expo and concert held on May 31 at Emancipation Park in Kingston. The EU-funded national programme focused on the prevention of child abuse through a multimedia public-education campaign.

JIS: The Government plans to spend $100 million per annum, beginning next year, to improve safety at schools deemed to have inadequate security arrangements.

 

Education, Youth and Information Minister, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid, says the undertaking will include the installation of perimeter fencing, LED lighting and electronic surveillance equipment.

 

He indicated that this exercise will be carried out until all schools requiring assistance are outfitted with the necessary security provisions to safeguard students, teachers and support staff, and other stakeholders accessing school compounds.

 

Additionally, Senator Reid, who emphasised that school safety and security is a high priority for the Government, said persons trained as security officers under the Administration’s Housing, Opportunity, Production and Employment (HOPE) programme, would be utilised, where necessary, to augment these provisions.

 

He also urged school administrators to liaise with the police where security challenges requiring their intervention arose.

 

The Minister made the announcement during a consultative meeting of primary school principals and Board chairpersons at the Kendal Conference Centre in Manchester on May 30.

 

Meanwhile Senator Reid reminded principals of their responsibility, under the Child Care and Protection Act, to report acts of violence and abuse committed against children to the authorities.

 

He also stressed that the use of corporal punishment to discipline children was banned in Jamaica under an international convention signed by the Government.

 

Senator Reid said teachers and school administrators resorting to its use did so “at your own risk” and warned of dire consequences.

 

“Be guided by the United Nations Children’s Fund’s (recommendations) and the available alternative methods of punishment,” he stressed.

 

Meanwhile, as the Ministry prepares for increased roll-out and utilisation of information and communication technology (ICT) in education, Senator Reid is urging teachers and administrators to increase the use of ICT in order to strengthen their institutions’ efficiency and outputs.

 

 

CAPTION: Education, Youth and Information Minister, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid, addressing principals and board chairpersons at Kendal Conference Centre in Manchester on May 30.

JIS: The Mission House Methodist Basic School in East Rural St. Andrew is to receive assistance from employees of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, in its quest to attain Early Childhood Commission (ECC) certification.

 

Members of the Jamaica Foreign Service Association (JaFSA) at the Ministry have committed to forging a long-term partnership with the school, which is affiliated with the Gordon Town Methodist Church and has already attained 79 per cent of the ECC’s certification standards.

 

The Ministry’s staff took the first step to cementing this partnership by carrying out renovation and beautification work at the school as their Labour Day project on May 23.

 

Members, along with Portfolio Minister, Senator the Hon. Kamina Johnson Smith, and ECC representatives, joined Member of Parliament, the Most Hon. Juliet Holness; members of the school’s administration; parents and other residents in giving the institution the welcome facelift.

 

The work entailed the refurbishing of the play area, ceiling and roof repairs, repainting, and general landscaping.

 

This is expected to propel the school closer to becoming certified, while further enhancing the teaching/learning experience for the 40 pupils and three teachers, headed by Principal, Kassan Scott.

 

The ECC Operating Standards emphasise the need for the creation of environments at schools that meet building, health and safety stipulations for children; the provision of adequate space to facilitate their development and that of the staff; the provision of safe child-friendly equipment and furnishings that promote the children’s optimal development; and safe indoor and outdoor environments for children, staff and visitors.

 

The Ministry’s staff members have indicated that there are further plans to address other features, which they hope to do in due course.

 

These include replacing the school’s roof, erecting a perimeter fence at the rear of the premises, and further enriching the teaching/learning experience by providing additional resources, such as books.

 

Senator Johnson Smith tells JIS News that there are also plans to paint a mural that is expected to significantly enhance the school’s environment.

 

Second Vice President of JaFSA, Alecia Lewis, who coordinated the project, says a school was chosen, because “we wanted to do something sustainable; and we think that education is an area that can have a long-term impact on people’s lives”.

 

Additionally, Ms. Lewis, who is the Acting Assistant to the Director for the Ministry’s Department of International Organisations, says the choice of a basic school, in particular, is in keeping with the Government’s focus on strengthening early-childhood education by ensuring that institutions’ operations are of the highest standards.

 

“That is the basis of our educational system, because, at the end of the day, if students don’t get the proper foundation between ages one and six, then it will be very difficult for them to learn as they go through the rest of the education system,” she argues.

 

Ms. Lewis says following consultations with the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Mission House Methodist Basic School was chosen.

 

Senator Johnson Smith, who points out that early-childhood education is “close to my heart,” tells JIS News that she gave the staff an undertaking to support their project of choice this year and, as such, endorsed the project when it was unveiled.

 

“One of the things we want to keep at the forefront of people’s minds is that even though we are the Foreign Affairs Ministry, we are very much connected to our communities (and committed) to making sure that our work reflects in improvements in the lives of Jamaicans,” the Minister says.

 

President of JaFSA, Denise Sealy, tells JIS News that stakeholder support for activities on Labour Day was very good, as in addition to the Ministry’s staff in Jamaica, there were inputs from the country’s overseas Missions that enabled the acquisition of the materials used.

 

Ms. Sealy, who is the Assistant Director in the Ministry’s Economic Affairs Department, assures that the activities on Labour Day were “the start of what is to come”.

 

For her part, Mrs. Holness praised the Ministry staff for their initiative, noting that it is “very encouraging when persons decide that they are going to select a project…and that’s what Labour Day is about”.

 

“It is not (solely the responsibility of) the Government or the Member of Parliament or the Councillor to choose. The community must also decide what is important and that they are willing to give of their time and input. It should be greatly appreciated when you get a job done in a community where the people have inputted their labour and love,” she adds.

 

Principal Scott tells JIS News that she was “ecstatic” when advised that her school would benefit from the benevolence of the Ministry’s staff.

 

“I am so happy. They could have chosen another school by the mere fact that we are in the rural area of St. Andrew. We all appreciate the fact that they chose our school to do this project,” she adds.

 

Ms. Scott, who has been Principal since 2004, is optimistic that the partnership with the Ministry will go a far way in assisting the school’s quest to attain ECC certification.

 

“We continue to work with the ECC to see how best we can improve the school’s infrastructure and teaching and learning environment, so that we are in alignment with the standards, rules and regulations of the Commission,” she says.

 

School Chairperson, Carmen Bogle, who notes that the institution has been in operation since 1951, tells JIS News that she, too, is pleased with the support that has been extended, adding that the entire community “is very appreciative of what is happening here”.

 

ECC Inspector, Karlene Jackson Jones, who also assisted in the project, tells JIS News that she is pleased with the progress of the school’s upgrading work. “They are pretty close to becoming certified,” she said.

 

Mrs. Jackson Jones advises that a follow-up inspection and assessment will be conducted as soon as installation of the outstanding fixtures at the school is completed, adding that once all the requirements are met, they will become ECC-certified.

 

For parent, Simone Edwards, the Labour Day activity and the long-term partnership by the Ministry “are well needed”.

 

“The school has excellent staff and they are doing a great job, especially the Principal, who goes the extra mile to get projects like these done at the school… and the community greatly appreciates this,” Ms. Edwards tells JIS News.

 

CAPTION: Staff members of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade paint playground equipment at the Mission House Methodist Basic School in Gordon Town, East Rural St. Andrew, on Labour Day, May 23.

JIS: The Mission House Methodist Basic School in East Rural St. Andrew is to receive assistance from employees of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, in its quest to attain Early Childhood Commission (ECC) certification.

 

Members of the Jamaica Foreign Service Association (JaFSA) at the Ministry have committed to forging a long-term partnership with the school, which is affiliated with the Gordon Town Methodist Church and has already attained 79 per cent of the ECC’s certification standards.

 

The Ministry’s staff took the first step to cementing this partnership by carrying out renovation and beautification work at the school as their Labour Day project on May 23.

 

Members, along with Portfolio Minister, Senator the Hon. Kamina Johnson Smith, and ECC representatives, joined Member of Parliament, the Most Hon. Juliet Holness; members of the school’s administration; parents and other residents in giving the institution the welcome facelift.

 

The work entailed the refurbishing of the play area, ceiling and roof repairs, repainting, and general landscaping.

 

This is expected to propel the school closer to becoming certified, while further enhancing the teaching/learning experience for the 40 pupils and three teachers, headed by Principal, Kassan Scott.

 

The ECC Operating Standards emphasise the need for the creation of environments at schools that meet building, health and safety stipulations for children; the provision of adequate space to facilitate their development and that of the staff; the provision of safe child-friendly equipment and furnishings that promote the children’s optimal development; and safe indoor and outdoor environments for children, staff and visitors.

 

The Ministry’s staff members have indicated that there are further plans to address other features, which they hope to do in due course.

 

These include replacing the school’s roof, erecting a perimeter fence at the rear of the premises, and further enriching the teaching/learning experience by providing additional resources, such as books.

 

Senator Johnson Smith tells JIS News that there are also plans to paint a mural that is expected to significantly enhance the school’s environment.

 

Second Vice President of JaFSA, Alecia Lewis, who coordinated the project, says a school was chosen, because “we wanted to do something sustainable; and we think that education is an area that can have a long-term impact on people’s lives”.

 

Additionally, Ms. Lewis, who is the Acting Assistant to the Director for the Ministry’s Department of International Organisations, says the choice of a basic school, in particular, is in keeping with the Government’s focus on strengthening early-childhood education by ensuring that institutions’ operations are of the highest standards.

 

“That is the basis of our educational system, because, at the end of the day, if students don’t get the proper foundation between ages one and six, then it will be very difficult for them to learn as they go through the rest of the education system,” she argues.

 

Ms. Lewis says following consultations with the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Mission House Methodist Basic School was chosen.

 

Senator Johnson Smith, who points out that early-childhood education is “close to my heart,” tells JIS News that she gave the staff an undertaking to support their project of choice this year and, as such, endorsed the project when it was unveiled.

 

“One of the things we want to keep at the forefront of people’s minds is that even though we are the Foreign Affairs Ministry, we are very much connected to our communities (and committed) to making sure that our work reflects in improvements in the lives of Jamaicans,” the Minister says.

 

President of JaFSA, Denise Sealy, tells JIS News that stakeholder support for activities on Labour Day was very good, as in addition to the Ministry’s staff in Jamaica, there were inputs from the country’s overseas Missions that enabled the acquisition of the materials used.

 

Ms. Sealy, who is the Assistant Director in the Ministry’s Economic Affairs Department, assures that the activities on Labour Day were “the start of what is to come”.

 

For her part, Mrs. Holness praised the Ministry staff for their initiative, noting that it is “very encouraging when persons decide that they are going to select a project…and that’s what Labour Day is about”.

 

“It is not (solely the responsibility of) the Government or the Member of Parliament or the Councillor to choose. The community must also decide what is important and that they are willing to give of their time and input. It should be greatly appreciated when you get a job done in a community where the people have inputted their labour and love,” she adds.

 

Principal Scott tells JIS News that she was “ecstatic” when advised that her school would benefit from the benevolence of the Ministry’s staff.

 

“I am so happy. They could have chosen another school by the mere fact that we are in the rural area of St. Andrew. We all appreciate the fact that they chose our school to do this project,” she adds.

 

Ms. Scott, who has been Principal since 2004, is optimistic that the partnership with the Ministry will go a far way in assisting the school’s quest to attain ECC certification.

 

“We continue to work with the ECC to see how best we can improve the school’s infrastructure and teaching and learning environment, so that we are in alignment with the standards, rules and regulations of the Commission,” she says.

 

School Chairperson, Carmen Bogle, who notes that the institution has been in operation since 1951, tells JIS News that she, too, is pleased with the support that has been extended, adding that the entire community “is very appreciative of what is happening here”.

 

ECC Inspector, Karlene Jackson Jones, who also assisted in the project, tells JIS News that she is pleased with the progress of the school’s upgrading work. “They are pretty close to becoming certified,” she said.

 

Mrs. Jackson Jones advises that a follow-up inspection and assessment will be conducted as soon as installation of the outstanding fixtures at the school is completed, adding that once all the requirements are met, they will become ECC-certified.

 

For parent, Simone Edwards, the Labour Day activity and the long-term partnership by the Ministry “are well needed”.

 

“The school has excellent staff and they are doing a great job, especially the Principal, who goes the extra mile to get projects like these done at the school… and the community greatly appreciates this,” Ms. Edwards tells JIS News.

 

CAPTION: Staff members of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade paint playground equipment at the Mission House Methodist Basic School in Gordon Town, East Rural St. Andrew, on Labour Day, May 23.

JIS: The Jamaica Intensive Reading Clinic (JIRC) is calling on corporate Jamaica to come on board and donate books and other resources to its week-long islandwide reading camp in July.

 

The camp, which is expected to cater to some 1,500 children between six and 17 years old, will run from July 24 to 28 and will be held at 15 locations across the 14 parishes.

 

Executive Director of JIRC, Santana Morris, said there is an ongoing book drive to acquire material to be used for ‘reading corners’ at each location.

 

She explained that the camp will be targeting children in need of literacy intervention and will address the five main components of literacy – fluency, comprehension skills, vocabulary development, phonemics and phonological development.

 

Literary specialists and principals have been engaged to recommend students most in need of the intervention. Registration forms will also be available online for parents to register their children for participation.

 

“JIRC is a strategic, non-profit, innovative initiative that was created to help students master the art of reading. We gather trained literacy specialists across the island to create special programmes to help students who are having literacy challenges, who are from a low financial background, and others who might even just want to read above their grade level,” Ms. Morris said.

 

The JIRC Summer Reading Camp was first held in 2016 in seven parishes.

 

“This year, we will be having a mixture of activities, including an edutainment package, where we will be inviting different professionals to come in and to speak to the students about why literacy is important and how it applies in their work and field,” she said.

 

She said this is to include nurses, doctors, security personnel, skilled labourers and others from the community, who will demonstrate the value of literacy in their everyday work.

 

“We will be focusing on promoting literacy in our communities. Teachers and the Ministry of Education cannot do it alone, so we have to come together as a nation to help our students to master reading and to eradicate illiteracy in our country,” she said.

 

Children will be screened at the start of the camp to ascertain their level of need and be assigned accordingly.

 

The Executive Director said some 800 volunteers, including 300 teachers, have been accepted to help in the teaching and running of the camps.

 

She explained that the JIRC aims to use culturally relevant books and material to help the youngsters relate to the lessons.

 

The programme is also looking to utilise digital solutions to help children learn to read.

 

“We are hoping to get sponsorship for tablets or laptops that will aid in delivery this year. This will help students develop literacy and create a better foundation for lifelong learning,” she said.

 

The National Youth Service (NYS) has offered to collaborate with the JIRC to provide a stipend for volunteers from the age of 17 to 29.

 

Information on how to donate can be found at the website: www.jamaicaintensivereadingclinic.com and on the JIRC Facebook, Twitter or Instagram accounts.

 

CAPTION: Executive Director of the Jamaica Intensive Reading Clinic (JIRC), Santana Morris.