Luther Thorne Memorial teachers report late; parents ‘left in the dark’

By Sheria Brathwaite

School got off to a confusing start at Luther Thorne Memorial Primary on Tuesday as several teachers did not report for duty until break time, amid reported unease about environmental problems at the Wildey, St Michael educational institution.

Shortly after parents and guardians dropped off their wards, they were informed that there were no teachers at the school to conduct classes. Although the school was not officially closed, many of them returned for their children.

When a Barbados TODAY team visited the school, staff members were seen arriving after 10 a.m. when the bell had rung to signal break time.

When contacted, the President of the Barbados Union of Teachers Rudy Lovell said he did not have all the details surrounding the matter and the union would carry out further investigations.

“But it is our belief that the teachers are not happy with certain aspects of the environment at school and that led to the teachers attending work late,” he said.

Asked if the action was coordinated, the BUT head said: “I won’t be able to say that; it could have been coincidental also.”

Sources have told Barbados TODAY that the school is experiencing serious environmental issues.

Lovell would only say: “I would not want to venture too far as to indicate that there are environmental issues because the ministry made contact with the union this morning and a discussion was had. We are also awaiting a meeting with the ministry and staff before we comment any further.”

He disclosed that the union was to meet with the ministry this week to discuss the concerns of teachers at Luther Thorne Memorial.

Parents, meanwhile, said they felt they had been left in the dark about what was happening.

Jabarri Williams, the father of a nine-year-old boy, told Barbados TODAY: “My neighbour told me there were no teachers at the school and when I got here, the guard said the same thing and that ministry officials were inside. The principal let me leave with [my son] after I signed him out. I was just surprised that something like this happened and no one called me and I had to find out what was going on from my neighbour.”

Daniel Morris, who collected his five-year-old nephew, said he was concerned about what was happening.

“My sister called me and asked me to collect him ‘cause she heard there were no teachers,” he said. “She called his teacher and got no answer and she called the school and couldn’t get anyone. So when I came down, I realised there were no teachers. I am really wondering why the teachers are not working: this is ridiculous.”

A guardian of three told Barbados TODAY: “The parents asked me to collect the children. Apparently, there aren’t any teachers, only monitors. We only found out about 9:45. This is a major inconvenience because the timing is pretty out of place. First, you bring them to school hustling through traffic and now you have to hustle back through traffic, find someone to keep them, and then go back to work. Nobody explained what was going on either. I just signed them out so I would like some answers,” he said.

One parent questioned if what occurred had anything to do with a recent complaint her son made of a rodent sighting.

She told Barbados TODAY: “My five-year-old son came home one evening and said, ‘Mummy, I see a big-big mouse today in the gutter’, so I am wondering if there is an environmental problem at the school. So it seems that parents are in the dark about what is affecting the school. We had the sickout by teachers and no explanation was given and now it’s a situation where teachers didn’t show up to school until late and we want to know what is going on and what the ministry is doing to address the issues.”

The parent also said that a WhatsApp message was sent to parents around 11:30 a.m. stating that an emergency parent-teacher association meeting had been called for 5 p.m.

The Ministry of Education issued a statement stressing that the school was not closed and the students were properly supervised until the teachers arrived.

In a press release, it said: “The [ministry] was made aware that most teachers at the Luther Thorne Memorial School had called in to indicate that they would be late to school. In an attempt to ensure that students were supervised in the interim, education officers were dispatched to the school and they, along with the principal and the senior teachers, supervised the children until the teachers arrived at school. By 10:30 a.m., teachers were at their classes and teaching was in progress.”

Meanwhile, Lovell pointed out that there were environmental issues affecting several schools across the island and said he hoped the ministry was considering improving the school plants as part of the education reform it plans to implement.

“There’s a myriad of environmental issues affecting the educational landscape, but particularly the primary school system. There are some in secondary schools too and there is a need for these issues to be urgently addressed to ensure the smooth delivery of education.

“I would venture to say that in the midst of education reform, I would hope that the government gives priority to rectifying or resolving all of these environmental issues that allow for any reform measures to be successful. Because even if we speak to reform in an educational system and we don’t address the environmental issues, that would negatively upset the delivery of education after the reform has been completed.”

sheriabrathwaite@barbadostoday.bb