UPROOTED

Seventeen special-needs students who attended the Adonijah Group of Schools in St Andrew have been displaced following a dispute between administrators and the Ministry of Education over unpaid fees.

The matter came to a head two weeks ago when the students were barred from classes as the school communicated to parents that its finances had been in the red since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic and worsened when the ministry failed to honour its commitment in a timely manner.

Angry parents told The Gleaner that their children, who have had a raft of learning challenges, were “plucked” from the Waltham Park Road-based institution and placed at One Way Preparatory School on Newark Avenue in Kingston.

The parents complained that while the latter school is equipped with special-education teachers, it pales in comparison to Adonijah, which specialises in teaching children with “varying degrees of learning capabilities”.

The 13- and 14-year-old students were placed at the special school at the beginning of the 2020-2021 academic year, having graduated from the primary level through the Primary Exit Profile, but were still exhibiting signs of learning challenges.

In a Gleaner interview on Thursday, Adonijah Principal Ruthlyn James explained that a memorandum of understanding had been signed with the ministry, which needed assistance placing these students because of limited spaces elsewhere amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

She said that the school agreed to accept the students, noting that it not only specialises in academics but also in clinical care to include therapy services involving speech and language, sensory integration, and physiotherapy.

James said the last exams sat by the students were administered in grade four and that none of them had attained mastery.

She said that following placements, no documentation was submitted to the school from the ministry communicating the students’ academic performance or learning challenges. As a result, the school conducted a psychological education assessment to determine student competencies.

James said that in addition to special-education services, they required related services such as behaviour modification, cognitive development, and speech and language training.

She said this was communicated to the ministry, and the supporting documentation was submitted.

The principal said that an agreement was struck that the ministry would provide support for each student, offering $80,000 annually.

“Anyone thinking logically will know that that cannot operate a programme for these children. They required specialist teachers that we could not afford based on the payment ... . However, we just went into it face-on. We never turned them back. We continued in negotiation and we continued with the MOU,” said James.

Adonijah charges between $100,000 and $175,000 per student per year.

James said that the ministry first breached the agreement by paying over the agreed sums seven months after they were due.

Matters were compounded when the ministry failed to honour this year’s fees.

“So, we – as a private institution that was already in the red – had to stand independently for seven months treating the children. Imagine operating the programme without funding. We had to, basically, rely on the private department to fund the government programme,” she said.

At a meeting in June with the ministry, James questioned the future of the MOU which, she said, the ministry had deemed a “misalignment”.

She said that it was communicated then that $80,000 for each student per year could not suffice.

The educator said the ministry noted that things would remain unchanged.

“We never had a problem because the children were already here. We knew that it would be a disadvantage to send them away, so we continued and tried to negotiate. August (2021) came, no payment. September came, no payment. October, no payment,” she said, adding that she wrote to the ministry communicating that her teachers would “stand down”.

James said that the school was unable to pay the teachers and could not again call on money from the private department without a guarantee of when it could be repaid.

She also said that because of the unpaid sums, she had had to “stretch” herself by adding teaching to her therapy duties as the ministry said it could not provide additional support unless the ratio was 50:1.

James said the ministry subsequently assured the school that the matter would have been sorted out, but on October 29, made an about-turn, communicating that the students would be transferred.

The Gleaner contacted Andrew Pitkin, assistant registrar of the ministry’s independent schools unit, who said that he was not authorised to speak with the media on the matter.

Our newsroom was told that he had been in dialogue with the school and parents.

Up to press time, Acting Permanent Secretary Maureen Dwyer also did not respond to questions sent via email upon request.

“In the meeting, I expressed that my greatest concern is that I hope that the children’s transition will facilitate continuity for their developmental, academic, and therapeutic needs. They (ministry representatives), basically, concurred; however, they had already placed the kids,” James said, noting that the ministry is yet to put in writing its decision to transfer the students from her school.

The decision has left several parents fuming as they say that there has been no consultation or formality in the process.

There were also concerns that should the ministry again fail to honour its commitment to One Way Prep, the students could suffer further.

The parents told The Gleaner that they received telephone calls from the ministry informing them that their children had been transferred. Nothing came in writing.

They argued that Adonijah was the best fit for their children, some of whom had suffered mental and physical abuse because of their conditions in the traditional school system.

“It’s really distressing ... . Parents and children are really suffering as a result of this. People would have invested in uniforms and school books for that school. Now they’re just uprooted and being told to go to a place where no provisions have been made,” said Leighton Williams, a parent.

He told The Gleaner that the new school is in the process of conducting assessments with the intention of hiring specialist staff.

Michelle Duncan, whose child was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), said the manner in which the ministry dealt with the matter was disrespectful.

“So because of the Government’s breach of trust with the school, they are now sending them to a different school ... . They just called me out of the blue, saying that my child will be transferred. I was upset. I’m comfortable with Adonijah and their treatment towards my child,” the parent said.

Jamelia Pownall’s child also suffers from ADHD.

She said that it was not until his placement at Adonijah that she saw vast improvements in his grades.

“Before that, is pure Cash Pot number, and mi nuh buy Cash Pot ... . The teacher dem show interest in a dem, so we show back interest. The teacher dem have a very good bond with the children, so I don’t understand what is the problem. You take my child and send them there and can’t pay the school, so you going to pull him when him a learn and throw him somewhere else? Mi can’t understand,” the mother said.

kimone.francis@gleanerjm.com