Quickstep making bold strides with Pencils4Kids
Published:Saturday | December 11, 2021 | 12:08 AMAndre Williams/Staff Reporter
Pencils4Kids founder and CEO Randy Griffiths believes that in order for education to be adaptable and inspire children, it must start with the learning environment and early on in each child’s development.
Griffiths is an alumnus of the Quickstep Basic School in the small St Elizabeth district where he grew up before migrating to the United States, and 40-plus years later, the space is just as he remembered it.
At the request of the near-300 residents living in the deep rural hills, he and his team have started a process to transform the school.
During their annual Christmas trip to Jamaica this year, representatives of the New York City-based charity have teamed up with volunteers and residents in Quickstep to carry out a $7-million upgrade.
The project saw the demolition of the small 60-year-old structure and construction starting in October on a more modern building, which is expected to be completed in March 2022.
Griffiths is anticipating that following the completion of the project, the school will see an increase in enrolment next September.
Project foreman Radcliff ‘Carlos’ Whitfield told The Gleaner that the works have been progressing smoothly with weather conditions being the only challenge.
“We’re expanding the basic school from 30x20 to 55x37 feet. The windows are 55x60 inches for better ventilation. We used to have ventilation holes,” Whitfield said.
The school is to be retrofitted with a sickbay, separated bathrooms for girls and boys, a kitchen and more spacious classrooms.
The work crew consists on seven men, who are all from the community and either attended the school or sent their children there.
“I am sure by September [2022], the kids will be able to go to school,” Griffiths said, beaming with pride, as his five-year-old vision comes to life.
A fitness consultant by profession, Griffiths told The Gleaner that having built the community library in 2019 and, in the years following, provided Quickstep Primary with a school bus and garage, he was encouraged to develop the Quickstep Basic School.
“We are on board to get things done here. The interior was a wreck; not a good standard for a school. The kids can’t learn in the way it was. This is how it should start for each child. We took it up on ourself to rebuild and give them what is needed,” he said.
Children the greatest asset
Griffiths noted that the children were the greatest asset in the community and that in order for them to grow into rounded individuals, it was imperative to give them the best start.
“We started investing in this community 14 years ago, but this project is by far our biggest, and we’re slowly but surely getting things done,” the Pencils4Kids founder told The Gleaner.
Having been out of commission for more than a year as COVID-19 forced classes online, last Friday, students were able to receive their first ride home aboard the school bus in light of the phased resumption of face-to-face classes. Riding the bus allows them to save on transportation cost and eliminate miles of trekking.
Alicia Gilzene-Black, principal of Quickstep Primary, said that with the bus, it will be seeking to increase its student population and lessen the burden on parents.
“With Pencil4kids as our educational partner, we are moving up as time goes by… . What you find now is that even though we are on face to face, some of the students didn’t bother to turn up because of finances. Some persons are saying the uniforms are not ready so they decided against sending the students,” she, however, said noting that some parents were faced with hardships being unemployed and with some having several children in the household.
Pencils4Kids is also strategising with the Quickstep schools to kick-start a feeding programme in the new year with Gilzene-Black noting that as recently as the last summer school programme, the children were having challenges with lunch.
“We hope that our literacy will improve as well … . I am sure with our educational partners our students will become global citizens,” she expressed, noting that already more parents beyond the Quickstep district are eyeing the developments and have indicated their intention to send their children to school there.