Valley Christian Ministries Basic School aims for top grade

Hortense Dixon-Grant, principal of the Valley Christian Ministries Basic School, is confident that when the Early Childhood Commission (ECC) returns to do its yearly inspection, the institution will score enough to gain full certification.

The school was one of the 1,056 early childhood institutions (ECIs) across Jamaica which earned below 50 per cent in the most recent inspection by the ECC.

This announcement was made four months ago.

Dixon-Grant recalls that when she was appointed principal nine years ago, the 30-year-old school was not even registered with the ECC. She spearheaded the move to get the school on the list.

“Since I’ve been here, I’ve been putting a lot of work in getting it [the school] to even be registered by ECC ... We have to meet certain standards, and that’s what I’m striving for,” Dixon-Grant told The Gleaner on Monday.

Among the reasons given for Valley Christian Ministries Basic School’s failure then was space limitations. There were some 60 students crammed into three little classroom spaces which were separated by blackboards before the pandemic started.

“With the resumption of face-to-face classes and the requirements for social distancing, we had to move out a class into the church’s hall temporarily,” the principal told The Gleaner.

“As the principal, I did not have an office. I’m also a classroom teacher, so I teach the four-year-olds and I have to operate from my desk to facilitate parents. Everything had to be done there ...,” she added.

The former principal, Marvia Simms, also spearheaded an expansion project for the school years ago, which led to the construction of a new classroom’s foundation and structure, but that has remained incomplete over the years.

While trying to secure financial assistance to complete the structure, Dixon-Grant was encouraged by a parent to create a proposal and apply to Food For The Poor Jamaica for a new school building.

“In order to meet standards, it was costing a lot, because the classrooms were not sealed. I had to be putting in light fixtures and it was costing a lot of money, but the main problem was with the space, and [that is why] I wrote to Food For The Poor,” Dixon-Grant told The Gleaner.

She made the submission of her proposal for the expansion with three classrooms to the charity group in 2019.

FUNDS FROM OVERSEAS

Two years after, donors from Canada heard her plea, opted to fund the expansion project and travelled to Jamaica between July 18 and 20 to construct three new classrooms, separate bathrooms for girls and boys, a kitchen, a sick bay, a principal’s office with bathroom and a staff bathroom.

Given the new developments, Dixon-Grant believes the school’s next assessment by the ECC will conclude with a 100 per cent pass mark. This as the classroom space has doubled and the structures can more easily facilitate social distancing.

“It not only makes the teachers more comfortable and the children, but it also opens doors for employment for somebody else, because now I will have to have a janitor and probably I will have to employ another teacher because I know that we will be getting more children than what we had before,” she said.

In 2012, Food For The Poor Jamaica launched a programme dubbed ‘50 schools in 50 months’ to mark Jamaica’s 50th emancipation and independence celebrations.

Since then, the charity has worked in partnership with the Ministry of Education and Youth and other local communities to provide greater access to early childhood education.

More than 150 similar early childhood schools have been built to provide the youngest of Jamaicans with access to early learning.

Samantha Mahfood, executive director, Food For The Poor Canada, said this was the 36th school built by Canadians.

A SPECIAL BUILD

She said it was special as the build honours Keith Golding, Raymond Chang and Joe Mahfood; three men who improved access to health and education in Jamaica, and provided employment to thousands of Jamaicans.

“We built a school in our own backyard, right across from Food For The Poor Jamaica – an organisation that has been serving Jamaicans for 39 years – that has built thousands of homes and hundreds of schools and provides food, medical and educational supplies to needy communities and families across the island every day,” Mahfood said.

“We are grateful to our volunteers who worked hard in the hot sun, who believe in sharing, justice and education, who have given time and money to build a school, I’m so glad that we are here together. We have a community, a staff, and parents who treasure education and have worked for 30 years to provide these children with the best tools to succeed,” she said.

The school started out of the church and its establishment was spearheaded by Bishop Lascelles Russell.

ainsworth.morris@gleanerjm.com