Teachers Trained, Prepared, Helping Students With Life Skills
HIGHGATE, St Mary; Nov. 9, 2026
By: Glen-Wayde Brown (JIS)
Highgate Primary School is looking to establish a dedicated Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) laboratory to expand opportunities for students to engage in hands-on learning and innovation.
The facility will strengthen the school’s growing Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM) programme, which earned commendation at the 2026 STEAM in Action Expo in January, JIS reports.
Highgate Primary was recognized as a community innovator for its eco-centric project, ‘From Waste to Wow’, which demonstrated how waste material can be transformed into useful products.
(Grade-five teacher and Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, STEM,) Lead at Highgate Primary School, Shameka Brevitt, centre, is flanked by STEM Master Trainer, Candissa Pryce-Ashman, and STEM Lead, Shauna-Kay Austin-Byfield at the school in St. Mary).
For STEM Lead and grade-five mathematics and science teacher, Shameka Brevitt, the recognition reflects the progress made since the school formally began its STEM journey in 2023, when it was selected to pilot the STEM Theme Programme under the Ministry of Education, Skills, Youth and Information’s 21st Century Education Initiative.
“At the time… [I] was the only STEM lead… and then three other teachers joined,” she told JIS News.
Three of the teachers subsequently graduated as emerging STEM leaders and now serve as STEM leads at the institution, helping to integrate the programme across the school.
(Principal of Highgate Primary School in St. Mary, Karlene Allen, displays two awards won by the institution for Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics STEAM).
She disclosed that the programme is intended to prepare students for emerging careers while helping them understand and adapt to rapid technological changes, including the growing influence of artificial intelligence (AI).
“Our main focus is to implement the STEAM curriculum… [and] prepare our students for the 21st century world that is coming,” Ms. Brevitt said.
The school will be staging a 3K walk this month, Child Month, to raise funds for the STEM lab.
The event will be held under the theme ‘Fit Family, Fit Future’.
The aim is to establish a dedicated space for students to develop projects, conduct experiments and store their creations.
“We walk for fun, for fitness and for raising funds towards our STEM lab,” Ms. Brevitt said.
“We are working… to get the STEM lab up and running so we can have our children… [doing] hands-on activities and have somewhere to store these things,” she added.
Highlighting the students’ reception to the STEM programme, Ms. Brevitt said that it has been encouraging, with approximately 50 joining the school’s STEM club and the number is growing.
The school is planning to host its first STEM Fair during the current academic year.
The event will provide an opportunity for students to come up with solutions to practical challenges, demonstrating how STEM can be applied to everyday life.
(Grade-five students at Highgate Primary School in St. Mary tend to the institution’s vertical self-watering garden, as part of the school’s efforts to promote practical learning in agriculture and environmental sustainability.)
The school’s efforts are being supported by continued professional development for teachers, who are seeking new ways to incorporate technology into classroom activities.
Principal Karlene Allen said the STEM programme complements the school’s wider commitment to practical learning through Jamaica 4-H Clubs and Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC) competitions and initiatives such as the Lasco Releaf Environmental Awareness Programme (REAP).
“We are ready for the challenge, hard as it may be, but the STEM leads are fully prepared and ready to go,” she said.
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