School puts ‘PEP’ in step of disruptive boys

Two years ago, the administration at the Louise Bennett-Coverley Primary School, a co-ed institution in Gordon Town, St Andrew, separated a group of boys who had learning and behavioural challenges and placed them in a classroom by themselves.

This approach, explained principal Sheena Taylor-Morgan, was to facilitate the delivery of teaching instruction tailored for the boys who will be sitting the Primary Exit Profile (PEP) examination next year.

Taylor-Morgan said the group of 12 boys was performing below beginner level in all core subject areas, and would frequently disrupt classes.

“We saw the need to include an all-boys class because we know that sometimes we have disruptive students, especially boys in schools, and we find that some of these boys were disruptive in terms of their behaviour in class or outside of class,” she said.

“We also saw where the teaching strategies may not have been helping them, in terms of teaching strategies for co-ed schools,” she added.

The programme started in Grade Four, but became more structured in Grade Five. Taylor-Morgan said teachers were permitted to include more outdoor sessions with the boys, and professionals were engaged to conduct personal development sessions with them.

Leshawn Pearson taught the boys integrated science in Grade Five and is currently their grade-six form teacher.

Lauding this initiative, she told The Gleaner that the boys are more focused on their learning and the teachers can now solely concentrate on how to improve their academic competencies.

“You get to do a one-on-one, meaning to tap into what they like,” she said.

The boys, she added, generally favour a more hands-on approach to learning, and the all-boys class encourages that.

“So, they like the tactile, they like the outdoors, digging in the dirt for something. If I go outside to get some grasshoppers, they will go quickly and they don’t fuss. They try to work together to help each other,” she said.

Highlighting the improvements she has observed so far, Pearson is anticipating that that will translate in their PEP exams next year.

“My expectation is to work with them, try to even get one of their seven schools off that list [of high-school choices],” she said.

Taylor-Morgan shares Pearson’s optimism. She noted that the cohort started out with 12 boys but two have already attained proficiency in the core subject areas, and were able to move into the other Grade Six.

However, a more significant achievement with the approach, she stated, was the expected change in the boys’ attitude to learning.

“At the end of the programme, when you leave Grade Six, when you leave Louise Bennett-Coverley, you will become an all-rounded student,” she told the students on Monday. “You are somebody that, whichever school you attend, they will gladly accept you ‘cause you are not just doing well academically but your social skills are there.”

Key to accomplishing this is the dedication of the school staff, but also the support it receives from parents and past students, the principal stressed.

On learning about the initiative, Ockino Leslie, alumni ambassador of the institution and founder of Ockino Leslie Foundation, decided to adopt the class.

This will involve his offering mentorship to the boys to aid in their social development and collaborating with the school’s administration to offer various rewards for progress they have achieved.

Leslie, a 2016 Prime Minister’s Youth Award for Excellence, in the category of Youth in Service, emphasised the marginalisation that boys often experience in Jamaican society. He noted that his mentorship programme complements the school’s initiative, as it is designed to foster academic growth, personal growth and social awareness, and cultivate leadership skills.

“In our society today, we tend to focus on our girls and not necessarily our boys, and our boys need to be empowered and inspired equally as our girls,” he said on Monday at the launch of his mentorship initiative.

sashana.small@gleanerjm.com