Wood Hall Primary ensuring no student is left behind
PRINCIPAL FOR the Wood Hall Primary School, Elisa Craig, has nothing but praises for her staff and the parents in the community for going above and beyond the call of duty in ensuring no child is left behind in the learning process.
Craig also had high praises for neighbouring school Mt Providence Primary, which she said has seen similar actions from the teachers there in carrying out the mandate in reaching every child, despite the challenges.
The hurdles are many, with Craig stating that one of the biggest is
‘Teachers have to be utilising all kinds of creative means to teach. As the principal, I drive through the community and meet with any student the teachers can’t reach online, and make alternative arrangements to get things done.’
the fact that many of the parents in the communities are unemployed, so students cannot keep up with the mobile data plan. For others, she said a data plan doesn’t even come into question, as they do not even have smartphones.
“For some households, it is just the parent [that] has a smartphone, and students cannot access the lessons until that parent comes home in the night,” she told The Gleaner.
“Teachers have to be utilising all kinds of creative means to teach. As the principal, I drive through the community and meet with any student the teachers can’t reach online, and make alternative arrangements to get things done,” she informed.
Craig said teachers prepare lessons for both WhatsApp and Google Classroom, as well as those that must be printed and distributed.
WI-FI ACCESS
“Those students get their work for the week and they take them in on weekends, as it is not feasible to deliver every single day,” she said.
According to Craig, there are times when her staff has to accommodate students at their home just so they can access their
Wi-Fi. She herself allows students to download their assignment at her home, but said that that only aids those who live close by.
“It’s a challenge. Mt Providence has challenges right now, as the school has no roof presently because of the reroofing being done. They had to take out the printer and leave it at a teacher’s home in order to print documents for the children to get,” she shared
Both Mt Providence and her school have the same challenges with printing, as she said it is expensive to maintain.
Craig said Region Six, under which the school falls, used to assist with the printing of material for the students, but the lockdown and skeletal staff working there have put a stop to that.
Looking ahead, Craig said it is her hope that the schools in her area will be considered for the tablets-in-schools drive as the students are really in need.