Mocho Primary receives special education unit

Students with special needs at Mocho Primary School, as well as those from surrounding areas, 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, which was done at a cost of over $2.5 million by Jamalco through its Noble Foundation, was handed over to the school last Friday.

"It all started with a vision - a vision of inclusion for students with special needs," said principal Tina Reid. She told The Gleaner that as a teacher at the school, she dealt with a lot of special-needs students who could not be properly catered to in the environment that existed. It was this that caused her and her team at the school to reach out to Jamalco with their concerns three years ago.

With her dream now a reality, Reid is thankful for the unit which is equipped with a library, tablets, and learning materials geared towards stimulating the growth of special-needs students.

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

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

The services the unit will be offering, she said, will include 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".