Constitution Hill Primary pushes to eliminate multi-grade status

The Constitution Hill Primary and Infant School, located in East Rural St Andrew, is working toward the ultimate objective of discontinuing operations as a multi-grade institution.

Melicia Mathison, principal of the school, informed The Gleaner on Monday that she wished to see a change that would benefit the community to a greater degree.

“Ultimately, I want to see us move from a multi-grade institution to a single-grade institution,” she said, adding that this would cater to the overall development of the children. “I want to ensure that our students are getting an education that is second to none and building their best skills,” she continued.

A multi-grade institution is one where a single teacher instructs students from different age groups, grades, and abilities in the same classroom.

The multi-grade school system at the institution currently sees students from grades one and two sharing a classroom and grades four and five sharing a single space with only one teacher. In the infant and lower school (grades one-three) department, a caregiver is present.

The caregiver’s role, according to Mathison, is not limited to assisting with bathroom, lunch, and other non-teaching tasks, but the individuals must also be capable of assisting the teacher with instructional tasks.

Mathison, who was appointed principal in May 2017, explained that despite the work done by past principal and present Jamaica Teacher’s Association (JTA) president, Winston Smith, who has done tremendous work in getting the school where it is now, the staff continues to suffer.

This strain resulted in Mathison, within her first year as principal, teaching grades five and six.

“So my days started at seven where I would come and have early class, have afternoon class and then at 3 o’clock, that’s where the principal work starts,” she expressed, noting that this lasted for three months.

“It was really hard, it really was. It saw me leaving here like 10 o’clock in the nights,” she expressed.

It has been particularly difficult for teachers as well to teach multi-grade classes given the difference in syllabuses and curriculums.

She explained that, while the multi-grade system has benefits and drawbacks, the disadvantages have regrettably overshadowed the advantages.

Multi-grade system will allow students who have fallen behind to catch up by participating in classes from their former grade, which will help them reinforce concepts they previously struggled with.

Additionally, students who are already proficient in their current grade’s work can be introduced to the curriculum of the next grade.

But while this is good for students in some ways, it places a strain on teachers who will have to be familiar with both syllabuses and the intensity that comes with trying to execute lessons and to find topics that are common to both grades.

Despite the fact that the school now has 146 students and counting, Mathison stated that this is a major improvement from the previous 40-odd students who had been enrolled in previous years.

“For me, for us, the learning of the students ... that’s paramount ... that’s very important,” Mathison said, adding that she and former principal, Smith, have had to work on the school’s product offerings and properly publicise the school so that parents can have peace of mind knowing their children are in good hands.

Previously, she explained, parents would send their children to schools in Kingston, which were located outside of the community.

Constitution Hill Primary and Infant School serves the surrounding areas of Bedward Gardens and Halls Delight.

Smith, who was the school’s principal from May 2012 to April 2017, told The Gleaner on Tuesday that getting the school to function smoothly was a challenging task, even when he was principal.

This is so, as he too had to fulfil the dual duties of principal and instructor and that “the difficulty level increased astronomically if a teacher is absent,” he added.

“The principals and teachers of multi-grade school need help... No principal should be a teacher in a multi-grade school,” said Smith.

As the current JTA president, Smith, has been lobbying for the issue to be addressed. He stated that he has expressed his concerns to the Ministry of Education, which is looking into the matter and working on strategies to lessen the burden of having principals teach as well as handle administrative duties.

He asserted that closing these institutions due to reduced student populations should never be the solution because they are located in marginalised regions and will leave kids who are typically considered disadvantaged unable to pay transportation costs to attend urban schools.

“These schools are needed, they must exist, they must operate. We are saying to Government, it may seem to you or to the more fiscally prudent person to say it’s not worth it, but from where I sit, it’s more than worth it,” he said.

Smith believes that all schools should have a minimum standard that includes a teacher available for every grade, regardless of the number of students enrolled, and a guidance counsellor who can address challenges faced by students.

“It’s not about numbers; it’s about making our education system better, and what you will find is that in many of the multi-grade schools, there are pyscho-social needs that must be addressed and the teachers are not equipped,” he explained.

Currently, because the institution is now a part of the education ministry’s Brain Builders Programme, more efforts are needed to get an additional room to cater to children up to two years old.

Mathison is hoping to be able to build a new classroom to help with this.

The Brain Builders Programme, which began in 2019, aims to eliminate cognitive learning challenges among infants in the country.

Multi-grade schools comprised 20 per cent of primary schools across the island in 2020.

asha.wilks@gleanerjm.com