Mocho Primary School gets special education unit

Special needs students of the Mocho Primary School, as well as those in the environs, can now benefit from a special education unit set up at the school.

The unit, a renovation of what was originally the principal’s cottage and which was done at a cost of over $2.5 million by Jamalco through its Noble Foundation, was handed over to the school on Friday.

“It all started with a vision – a vision of inclusion for students with special needs,” said principal Tina Reid, sharing that as a teacher at the school she dealt with a lot of special needs students who couldn’t be properly catered to in the kind of environment needed to foster their growth.

It was this insight that saw her trying to do something about it almost three years ago. Reid and her team at the school reached out to Jamalco with their concerns and the desire to make a difference in the students' lives.

The dream is now a reality with the unit equipped with a  library, tablet computers, and learning materials aimed at stimulating special needs students.

“Our main goal is for all of our students within the walls of the Mocho Primary is to be successful and to reach their highest potential. A disability should not stand in the way of them to reach these goals,” the principal said.

With the unit now in place, Reid said the school will now begin implementing programmes to support students with exceptionalities.

The services to be offered by the unit will include specialised and specially designed instructions in academic, self help, behavioural, communication, vocational and social skills. She also shared that individual study plans will be developed to cater to the needs of each child.

Thirty students have already been identified at the school with “an array of exceptionalities”.

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