‘Oasis in the desert’

THE LEADERSHIP of Denham Town High School has undertaken the bold task of transforming the institution into a safe haven for its students through psychosocial intervention.

The school, which is located in the inner city of west Kingston, has not been immune to the violence that often erupts in the neighbourhood with several incidents spilling on to the school’s compound.

But sharing that the occurrence of violence on the school’s grounds has been infrequent in recent months, acting Principal Yvette Richards Thompson is crediting this to the implementation of psychosocial sessions into the school’s curriculum.

“It is the children’s time. It’s their time to do whatever they want, to speak about whatever they want,” she told The Gleaner.

The programme, designed to teach students life skills and build competencies and self-esteem, was launched in September.

It is facilitated by 25 teachers at the institution who were trained by the MultiCare Youth Foundation’s Passport to Success initiative, an ongoing, multifaceted programme which aims to empower and upskill the school’s teachers, administrators, students and families.

Key to the success of the psychosocial intervention, Richards Thompson stated, is the fact that it is student-centred. Students guide the discussions around issues affecting them, and are encouraged to express it in ways they see fit.

“The teachers go to class ... and they find out the issues that the students want to speak about – maybe gunshot was firing the night before, they want to express themselves, maybe it’s a case where they saw something that would have triggered a memory or loss or pain and they want to express how they feel, and they are given the chance to express it in whatever way,” she said.

Adding that this could involve art or drama, the Denham Town High acting principal said these sessions are held in addition to the usual guidance and counselling period.

BETTER MONITORING

For Vice-Principal Novette Christian, the scheduled approach of these psychosocial sessions also allows school administrators to better monitor the progress of students.

“The fact that it is timetabled, so all students, all classes have it once per week and that gives us a better understanding as to where our students are in terms of the needs that they would have. So we look at the social, we look at the emotional, we look at the mental [in terms of] what comes out when we have those sessions,”

Christian noted that based on what is revealed in these sessions external partners, such as the Victim Services Division in the Ministry of Justice, and the Ministry of Education’s Guidance and Counselling Unit, are brought in to offer additional support.

Richards Thompson also stressed the importance of addressing the social factors that impact students’ thoughts and behaviour, arguing that it directly affects their ability to learn.

“We have children with literacy issues, for example ... . The issue really is not the literacy; it’s not that they can’t learn. The issue is that they may have been out of school for a period during primary school, they may have suffered abuse, it might have been because of the community in which they live,” she said.

A BENEFICIAL EFFORT

It is why, in conjunction with the psycho-social sessions, the school, which has a population of 500 with almost 80 per cent being males, also piloted a literacy programme at the beginning of last school year.

According to Richards Thompson, this, too, has proven beneficial.

“We would have done the analysis of the term one examination, and the children are showing significant progress compared to where they were last year,” she said. “It is amazing to see ... . We had to actually tell them that they are making progress because for them, sometimes they don’t feel as if they have the competence ... . If they make 10 per cent progress, that’s progress,” the acting principal told The Gleaner.

She outlined that a number of students who have matriculated to the institution were barely able to read; however, internal data have indicated that those students are steadily improving.

As she spearheads the ongoing transformation, Richards Thompson, who took the helm of the institution last September, said it is a team effort, bolstered by dedicated teachers, involved stakeholders, and a robust data-driven system.

It is also an approach that she is encouraging other schools to emulate.

“Educational transformation has to be based on partnerships – partnerships within the schools, partnerships with the external agencies, persons who are able to give direct support and partnerships among schools,” she said.

For Vice-Principal Christian, the future of the institution looks promising.

“Denham Town [High School] will once again be the oasis in the desert; we will rise. Based on where we are now, our projection is that at least every child will leave with five subjects, and that is our goal. That is where we are pushing,” she said.

sashana.small@gleanerjm.com