The Alma Parris Memorial Secondary School, now the Alma Parris Academy, has reopened with a new teaching approach and parents being more involved in the process. The aim is to produce students with the relevant skills for the real world.

This was disclosed yesterday by Minister of Education, Technological and Vocational Training, Kay McConney, after a walk-through of the institution at Major Walk, St. Peter.

Expressing gratitude to the Chief Education Officer, Dr. Ramona Archer-Bradshaw, and the team for the work that they have done, especially with the parents, Ms. McConney said: “We wanted that when we reopened … the Alma Parris Academy that we do so, not only with students, that we do so not only with teachers but that at the heart of the partnership has to be parents.

“And, we have taken the opportunity over the last several weeks to engage with parents more formally and informally, and the intention is that going forward, the partnership with parents has to be a central part of how we do education differently.”

She also noted that the school has an alternative curriculum, which is designed to make learning meaningful for the students there since the Ministry has been hearing from many students that “school is not always relevant”. 

The Education Minister continued: “And, we therefore need to make sure that whatever they walk away from our school system with, whatever skills, that they are actually relevant and can be applied in the real world.

“And I am sure, as you did the walk-through, you saw several laboratories…. All the laboratories are compliant with the CVQ/NVQ, which means that our teachers here will be able to take the students all the way through to technical and vocational qualifications as well as academic qualifications because what we are saying is, ‘every single child can learn’. We simply have to create the right kind of environment with the right kind of teachers who understand how children learn differently and are able to respond to the child.”

Meanwhile, the Chief Education Officer, who spoke about the new curriculum, said it is about allowing the Alma Parris students to feel and experience love, and “to understand what it means to have fun” while learning.

“We want that when they leave here, that they are contributing citizens to our society….  What will be offered here from here on in is something different that will allow our students to reach their fullest potential,” Mrs. Archer Bradshaw added.

Acknowledging that some Barbadian students have been falling through the cracks, she said that over the past year and a half, the Ministry had engaged with teachers and some parents and tried to find out where students were having difficulties in the classroom. She indicated that those students who were the most vulnerable were identified, and are currently enrolled at the Alma Paris Academy.

Mrs. Archer-Bradshaw also disclosed the effort made to get the school ready and the new method of teaching and assessing the students. 

“We also engaged our teachers at this school in extensive training. They’ve learned how to develop IEPs (Individualised Education Programmes); they’ve learned about social and emotional learning. We’ve also brought them into the Ministry so that they can understand how we are approaching education at this school.

“It is about loving these children; … teaching our children first, before you teach the subject. So, a lot of diagnostic assessment has gone into preparing these children for their education, and we will continue to do that because, you know, it is not a one-time diagnostic test, and that is it. We have to keep diagnosing them every time we teach them a concept. Every time we teach them a unit of work, we have to find out where there are, and employ methodologies that will reach these children,” she stated. 

The Alma Parris Memorial Secondary School was closed in 2017. (PR/GIS)