Lester Vaughan School parents have expressed displeasure at the Ministry of Education’s arrangements to meet with them on the school’s environmental issues.
And the Barbados Union of Teachers (BUT) has backed the parents, urging the ministry to foster a spirit of cooperation to resolve the issues at the problem-plagued high school.
The head of the school’s parent-teacher association (PTA), Sheena Headley, told Barbados TODAY: “The executive received complaints from many parents indicating the time and location for a meeting scheduled for Friday at 3 p.m. at Queen’s College in St James was inconvenient. Parents are concerned that Queen’s College is not a central location and can be a challenge for parents who use public transportation to commute.
“It was also suggested that schools in St Michael – The St Michael School, Harrison College and Combermere – could be used to facilitate the meetings, but there were no options for parents to choose from. The PTA executive is therefore asking for accommodations to be made online for parents who may have challenges getting to the location or getting off of work.”
Headley added that there appeared to be a misunderstanding on the part of the ministry as it relates to the meeting.
Last Thursday, the ministry said in a release that parents had asked for the meeting to be postponed owing to technical difficulties experienced during a virtual meeting. The call only allowed 100 participants to log in.
“I had asked the principal if there could be a meeting through another medium to accommodate parents who could not get into the Zoom call. I never asked for the meeting to be rescheduled; we just wanted to be accommodated on another platform,” Headley said. “During the first meeting held with Deputy chief education officer Joy Adamson in February, the PTA was hosting the meeting and back then we had the same problem – 100 participants were allowed on the call. What we did was send out another link and switched to a webinar call, which allowed for more people to participate. We thought the ministry would have done the same, learning from the previous experience.”
While the ministry, in a press release on Tuesday, gave an assurance that a decision on the resumption of in-person classes would only be made until the meeting with parents, the BUT has requested that the ministry be more cooperative in its interactions.
“The BUT has taken note of the recent statement . . . by the Chief Education Officer suggesting that the union and the PTA should simply let the process take its course. We find this attack unwarranted, as it implies a lack of support for the process and understanding between our organisations,” he said. “It is crucial to acknowledge that we are all in this together, working towards a common goal of providing quality education in a safe and conducive environment. Misunderstandings may arise, but they should be addressed through open dialogue and mutual respect and not acts of aggression. We urge the ministry to reconsider its approach and foster a spirit of cooperation and partnership with the union and the PTA. Together, we can navigate through these challenging times and ensure the best outcomes for our educators, students, and the entire school community.”
Ian Weekes, the industrial hygienist and environmentalist who authored the latest air quality and environmental report on the school, will explain the findings of the tests to the parents at Friday’s meeting. (SZB)
