Lester Vaughan parents irate over ‘lack of communication’

A press release from the Ministry of Education regarding the Lester Vaughan School has angered some parents. 

After multiple parents complained about the lack of communication from the ministry and the school’s management, and expressed concerns that their children were being disadvantaged, the ministry issued a statement to address the issues arising from the school’s closure.  

The parents said that since a meeting with Deputy Chief Education Officer Joy Adamson on February 28, there had been no communication with them. During that meeting, they were promised that special accommodations would be made for senior year students preparing for City and Guilds and CSEC examinations, as classes were being held online. But, parents complained that their children were facing difficulties completing assignments.

They also said they were assured that the results from the latest environmental tests conducted at the school would be shared with them within three weeks. But, the ministry’s statement on Wednesday revealed that it only received the test results on Tuesday.

The statement mentioned that a meeting with parents would soon be convened, adding that education stakeholders, including staff at Lester Vaughan, union officials, and ministry officials, had met to discuss the report findings and recommendations for the school’s way forward.

Almost seven hours later, the ministry issued another release denying accusations of poor communication. It stated that the decision to move classes online for Lester Vaughan students was made on February 28, and the Deputy Chief Education Officer and the principal held a meeting with parents to discuss the transition to online learning, with a view to relocating them to an available physical space if one was found. But attempts to relocate the school population to other facilities proved difficult, and the cost of retrofitting identified institutions would have been expensive for a two-week period.  

The ministry claimed that provisions were made for senior year students: “In order to ensure that examination students were not severely disadvantaged, arrangements were made by the Chief Education Officer and the Principal of Lester Vaughan to have students complete their School Based Assessments at the Daryll Jordan Secondary School, The St Michael School, Christ Church Foundation School, Combermere School, the Duncan Moore Educational Centre and the Jackman’s Seventh-Day Adventist Church. It has been reported by the principal that on average 79 per cent of practicals have been completed. The ministry expresses gratitude to the principals and staff of the institutions for their assistance.”

But several parents have refuted these claims, with one stating: “A lot of us are unsure if those arrangements were actually made because . . . a number of parents cannot afford to send their children to those schools, some cannot afford the bus fare. So we cannot confirm what the ministry is saying . . . It is a fact that parents do not have the financial means to ensure that their children have all the resources they need to complete their SBAs (school-based assessments) and this is why online classes are so challenging, because the children don’t have the resources. World Cup Cricket is coming in June and the government can allocate money to facilitate that but yet the ministry is looking at dollars and cents when it comes to these children. What message are they really sending?”

Regarding communication between the school and parents, the ministry said: “The principal also made herself available to parents via [virtual meeting] every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 am. Additionally, she was able to respond to any questions, comments or queries posed within the PTA Executive chat. Since the beginning of online classes, all parents and staff were sent a weekly status update via email from the Principal, who has remained available via cell. She has also been at the school on a daily basis to provide parents and students with devices and other resources.”

Parents said that while there was some level of communication, there were no updates regarding whether the school would reopen, what accommodations would be made for the children, and the test results. They also expressed concerns about the principal being on the school compound daily, with one parent saying: “It is not a good look that so many teachers and children are falling ill and the principal is at the school everyday. It makes it look like the teachers were not truthful about their complaints and can create a division among staff, which can impact the teaching and learning process for the children.”