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Last Updated: Feb 13, 2017 - 1:45:37 AM |
Volunteer teachers gather outside the Willamae Pratt Centre for Girls. From left to right: Deanette Gardiner, Katina Seymour, Helen DeJong, Bernadette Fox, Isadora Blyden and Olive Seymour
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Nassau, Bahamas - While many enjoyed their well deserved summer vacations, a special group of teachers from Lyford Cay International School (LCIS) worked diligently to help improve the literacy and math skills of the students at the Willamae Pratt School for Girls and the Simpson Penn School for Boys.
Teachers United for Social Change (TUSC) was founded by a group of LCIS educators in February 2014 as a community outreach organization providing targeted educational intervention to underserved populations within The Bahamas. This summer TUSC mobilized its volunteers and teachers to provide academic support, training, and mentorship, at the Penn-Pratt Enrichment Project (PPEP).
PPEP targets boys and girls incarcerated at the Simpson Penn School for Boys and the Willamae Pratt School for Girls. Several studies have shown that intensive reading intervention can improve outcomes for incarcerated students. The PPEP was conducted as an intervention program aimed at improving students’ literacy and numeracy skills. “We were welcomed at the schools,” said Daenette Gardner, one of the founding members of TUSC. “They shared their limited resources with us.” The very successful inaugural program was able to provide support to 32 students over four weeks in July. “We focused on academics with the boys and personal development with the girls,” explained Helene DeJong, co founder of TUSC. Student’s level of achievement before and after the program was measured and a significant improvement was realized by all students at the end of the four weeks.
The correlation between juvenile delinquency and low academic achievement is well established. Research perennially finds that children involved in the juvenile justice system have higher levels of learning disabilities than the general populations, and many have a history of academic difficulties. Recent data provided by the Simpson Penn and Willamae Pratt School reveal that more than 50% of their students are currently reading significantly below grade level, and 2 out of the current students are nonreaders.
The lead teachers for this project are;
Isadora Blyden who holds a Master of Arts degree in Special Education, and is currently the Head of School for Elementary and Student Support at LCIS. She has been an educator for more than 24 years.
Daenette Gardiner who holds a Master of Science degree in School Psychology. She is currently the Learning Enhancement Teacher at LCIS. She has been an educator for 18 years.
Katina Seymour has earned a Master of Science Degree in Teaching and Learning . She currently teaches fourth grade at LCIS and has been an educator for 7 years.
Helene DeJong, is in the process of earning her Master’s Degree in School Counseling. She is the Librarian and Community Service Coordinator at LCIS. She has been an educator for 17 years.
The initial four founding LCIS teachers were joined by six more of their colleagues from LCIS as well as two teachers from other organizations. “Every responsible person wants to make a positive impact on their community,” Ms Gardiner said. “And the great thing about this group of teachers is that we all shared the load. No one felt alone or overtaxed. It made all the difference in the world to work as a team and we still got to enjoy our summer vacation!” TUSC will need more teacher volunteers next summer as they plan to repeat the PPEP program as well as add others. “For me it was exciting professionally to work with my colleagues in a different context and on a totally different level. It was very rewarding,” Ms DeJong noted. “We didn’t want sessions to end. We stayed late after most sessions!” Katina Seymour, co founder of TUSC, added, “I am hopeful and confident that the time spent with the young ladies at the school (Willamae Pratt) will not be soon forgotten. The encouraging, respectful, and practical lessons and discussions we had, are bound to create a positive change. I am optimistic about their future!”
The TUSC also conducted a book drive to establish reading libraries in both schools. “We found that the children did have access to books but that they were mostly outdated resource materials,” Ms DeJong explained. “Through our book drive we were able to provide them with more exciting books to read. Books they were interested in reading. It was like giving them gold! They could not get enough.”
TUSC has pledged to provide training for Penn-Pratt teachers at the start of the new school year. “ We will maintain the connections made this summer,” Ms Gardner said. “We want to make monthly visits, and maybe bring in some guest speakers to expose students to the different professions that are available. We’d like to give them some practical guidance on how to succeed,” added Ms DeJong.
To learn more about TUSC please contact Daenette Gardiner at dgardiner@lcis.bs.
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Lyford Cay International School (LCIS) is is a fully accredited International Baccalaureate (IB) school and the only school in The Bahamas to offer three of the four IB Programmes The aim of all IB programs is to develop internationally minded people who, recognizing their common humanity and shared guardianship of the planet, help to create a better and more peaceful world. For more information on LCIS please visit www.lcis.bs
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