School finds ways of teaching skills after funds cut off
Staff, students and the community in Walkerwood have been involved in a skills programme that has been changing lives and even contributing to the well being of students at the school in St Ann. The initiative came after the cutoff of funding and support under the Ministry of Education’s intervention programme aimed at assisting students who did not perform well in the Grade 4 numeracy and literacy tests. The administration, led by principal Marsha Johnson-Henry didn’t give up, it dug in and with the help of volunteers has been helping students acquire useful skill. In September 2011 the Alternative Secondary Transition Education Programme (ASTEP) was established at the school to assist students from Walkerswood All Age and neighboring schools (Parry Town, Beecher Town and Ocho Rios primary schools) who had performed below grade level in the Grade Four Literacy Test. At the inception, the center was manned by a coordinator who had a strong knowledge of numeracy. A guidance counsellor and a literacy specialist visited weekly to ensure performance in the area of literacy and the development of social skills among these students. This was however impeded by the non-renewal of all contracts at the end of two years.
At the beginning of the academic year 2013 – 2014 a needs assessment was conducted among the students in an effort to offer a skills-based programme to enhance the literacy and numeracy skills of the three groups of students in ASTEP, at Walkerswood All Age. The results revealed that students, especially the boys, were enthusiastic about plumbing and carpentry; the females were interested in food and beverage and cosmetology. The school administration began the field work of identifying help to get the programme infused in the daily life of the students.
To date, the school has been able to meet some of the needs and restructured the timetable so that every Thursday is used as skill-learning day. The principal states that the school has forged links with: EduMission Television operating out of Ocho Rios, St. Ann, which through volunteers exposes the boys to barbering (theory and practical); the Walkerswood Methodist Church from which a former parent volunteers and, with the help of the female teacher assigned to one of the ASTEP groups, teaches sewing and cosmetology; a supervisor from the National Water Commission volunteers his time to the teaching of plumbing; while the male teacher assigned to the group with the help of RADA and the Walkerswood Farmers Group does agriculture. The Agriculture group has installed an irrigation drip system which is serviced through the schools water harvesting project. This irrigation system provides water for the school farm from where the school gets produce to use in its canteen. “The students as well as the staff are very enthusiastic about this initiative,” the principal says. Pictures show some of the activities in which the school has been engaged since September 2013.
