New Alma Parris programmes focus on self-value, real-world skills

In a significant move towards inclusive education, Alma Parris Academy in Speightstown, St Peter, has reopened its doors after an eight-year closure. The school, which caters to students with special needs, has undergone a $1.2 million makeover to become a state-of-the-art technical and vocational facility.

During a walkthrough on Monday, officials from the Ministry of Education said the school experienced not only a physical transformation but curricular and operational reform.

In September 2017, the northern school closed its doors as it was reported that low school intake, among other issues, was affecting the learning institution. It was initially established as an alternative secondary school for students who did not perform well in the Barbados Secondary School Entrance Examination.

The school has a new curriculum that focuses on life skills and entrepreneurship. It also does not have any form levels and operates on a mixed-grade approach.

Chief Education Officer Dr Ramona Archer-Bradshaw said: “What will be offered here from here on is something different that will allow our students to reach their fullest potential. We speak often about education transformation because we know that some of our students are falling through the cracks. What we did over the past year and a half was that we engaged the teachers, [and] some parents, and we tried to find out where students were having difficulties in the classroom.”

Dr Archer-Bradshaw said that after these discussions, students at secondary schools across the island who were deemed most vulnerable were placed at Alma Parris Academy.

She added that diagnostic assessments were done to determine strengths and weaknesses and these assessments will be a continuous part of their school experience.

“As part of the education transformation agenda, we will also be thinking about flexibility. After about a year or two, these students who may have had difficulty reading at first may have reached a certain level of understanding. It doesn’t mean that they have to remain at the Alma Parris Academy. They can then transition to a [mainstream] secondary school that can cater to their needs.”

The education chief said the students will also be exposed to several real-world simulations where they will be required to think critically and make impromptu decisions. For example, they will visit the supermarket and have to read product labels and buy items in line with their budgets. Those items will then be used to make meals in the school’s commercial food preparation room.

The school is now equipped with cutting-edge technology and commercial equipment to facilitate the technical and vocational skills the students will develop. Thus far, $1.2 million has been used to retrofit Block A and Block B for culinary, cosmetology, music, literacy, numeracy, civic, social studies, theatre arts and artistic expression programmes. Another section of the school will soon be renovated to facilitate other programmes. 

There are currently 24 students enrolled in the academy aged 11 to 14, which has the capacity for 30. The school also has a new uniform.

Acting Principal Tanya Mayers said the academy operated differently from secondary schools as it had mixed-ability and mixed-grade classes.

In phase two, the students will be exposed to more programmes such as woodwork, masonry and small appliance repairs. She said the goal was to empower the students with a skill as traditional jobs were fast becoming obsolete.

Minister of Education Kay McConney said one of the key approaches the school was also engaging in was more parent involvement, adding that at the core of the new school was instilling student pride, self-love and self-value. She said students who learn differently have the same considerable value as other students and the students of Alma Parris must feel loved and confident in themselves.

“We have noticed that love makes a big difference in how children feel about themselves, how they feel about [their] school and how eventually they’ll be able to get the outcomes that they want,” she said. “And so whether it is meaningful learning, whether it is relevant skills or the right kind of environment that truly focuses on the child and loving the child first as well as teaching the child, we think that we’ll be able to turn the way we do education for students on its head and be of a benefit not only to the students but to the country.” 

sheriabrathwaite@barbadostoday.bb