SSCOPE gives gadgets to students for online learning
Published:Friday | January 1, 2021 | 12:06 AMChristopher Thomas/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
Sixteen children from Salt Spring in St James, who previously had trouble accessing online schooling, are now able to do so, thanks to Wednesday’s US$2,000 (J$284,020.40) donation of electronic devices by the Salt Spring Community Outreach Empowerment (SSCOPE) organisation.
The children, of varying age groups and from different schools, received their devices in a fun-filled ceremony at the Salt Spring Peace and Justice Centre, which was held under the theme, ‘No Student Left Behind’. Kyon Downes, a 16-year-old grade 11 student of Cornwall College, was full of gratitude for the Samsung laptop he received as it will help him to complete his school-based assessments (SBA), which was a challenge prior to him getting the device.
“I am actually quite happy. I had asked for a laptop because I had been having a lot of trouble as it relates to doing my SBAs. I am preparing for my CSEC [Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate] examinations,” Kyon told The Gleaner. “I think this kind of event is quite important as it educates the public about the SSCOPE organisation and it empowers individuals so they can see how, in the future, they can help to uplift others.”Jaymara Allen, an 11-year-old grade six student of Green Pond Primary School, was likewise thankful for the computer tablet she received because previously, she had had to be using her grandmother’s phone to do her schoolwork online.
Previous Challenges
“I was having challenges doing my schoolwork because I had to use my grandmother’s phone, and sometimes she would want the phone, or she had to go somewhere and carry it with her, so sometimes I could not complete my work,” said Allen. “I do not want my grades to fall, because I want to pass my exams to go to a good school and be successful in life. I will be using the tablet for Zoom meetings and receiving my work so I can get a full grade.”
Wednesday’s distribution of devices was the latest in a series of ongoing outreach activities for SSCOPE, which was launched in Salt Spring in August 2019 and has members in the United States, Canada and England. Rochelle Cawley, the president of SSCOPE’s local chapter, told The Gleaner that the group, whose members all hail from Salt Spring, undertook the gadget-distribution exercise to help the community’s children who were falling behind in their online schooling due to their lack of devices.
“This ‘No Student Left Behind’ initiative was born out of the fact that the COVID-19 pandemic came, and then a lot of children were getting left behind because they did not have devices [for online learning]. Our original plan was to have a breakfast-feeding programme but, of course, nobody is going out due to COVID-19 restrictions, so we switched our agenda and started working towards this initiative,” said Cawley.