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.