New school plan in works

When schools resume in Barbados on September 21 following the COVID-19 shutdown, it’s being proposed that students in nursery up to Infants B are expected to attend classes for half-day, while older primary and secondary pupils will have a mixture of face-to-face and online classes.

This story was corrected to reflect a statement from acting Chief Education Officer Joy Adamson that no final plans have been confirmed for the start of the new school year. 

This was revealed yesterday by Chief Education Officer Joy Adamson who said that following meetings with stakeholders, including teachers and their unions, the Ministry of Education had settled on these two approaches, although changes could be made.

“Nobody has any answer for what school should look like. This is uncharted waters for us and therefore we would want the cooperation of parents, the cooperation of the general public to make sure that when we go back into school that we have that full cooperation. We might have to tweak things as we move along but that is expected,” she said during the latest online discussions staged by the Holy Trinity Anglican Church in St Philip.

“The ideal situation is to go back as we were before with everybody going to school and everybody being taught . . . in a classroom, Monday to Friday. But we know with the protocols that really cannot happen.”

The education chief added: “The two ideas we are looking at now is the shift system and we are proposing for the Nursery to Infants B go a shift. That means that you go half-day, . . . one group in the morning and another in the afternoon.”

Conceding that this might present some challenges for parents, in terms of transportation and sanitizing between classes, Adamson said the Ministry was seeking the cooperation of employers ,the public and private sectors, as well as the support of relatives to assist parents who will be impacted.

In addition, she said, there may be increased allocations from the Ministry of Finance for ancillary staff required to maintain sanitary standards at schools.

“The second proposal, and the one that most people are accustomed to and are expecting, is the blended approach where you have some classes face-to-face in school and some classes online,” Adamson noted.

She told the online Zoom discussion with almost 100 participants, and others following on Facebook: “We believe that if we get the cooperation from the parents, teachers, and we are working with the principals to put the protocols in place, that the two systems – the shift system for the 3 ½ to 6 ½ year-olds and then the blended approach for those from Class One to Class Four at primary, and all secondary schools where you do some face-to-face and some online – [can work].”

Adamson was on a panel that also included principal of the St Michael School Dr Yvette Mayers; Hilda Skeene Primary School principal Ivan Clarke; and Dennis Jones, a Jamaican economist who was previously stationed in Barbados.

In her contribution, Dr Mayers said any discussion on how schools would reopen should include students, teachers, parents, and non-academic staff.

“As we look towards September, we know that the best place for our students is actually in school. In terms of getting the academics covered, dealing with the psycho-social needs, mental health issues, we need to be back in school. But COVID-19 will determine how best that happens,” she said.

“If COVID-19 behaves itself and we can control it and we can ensure there is no community spread, then thankfully we should have our students back in school. However, at this stage we are preparing our schools for a reduced number of students in class, and right now, as we look at our timetables, it is a mammoth task to organize our schools in such a way that we cater to the needs of our students. Each year group will have different needs and we need to address those needs that students have.

“We also need to look at the other persons on the school premises. What about the other members of staff? What are their needs? What are their fears? What are the fears of parents? When we come up to these blended approaches to learning, will parents be able to fit in with our plans for their children?” the secondary school principal questioned. (IMC1)