Mighty Impressive! - JamaicaObserver.com

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Mighty Impressive!

Buckingham All-Age surpasses the odds to achieve excellence

Thursday, June 25, 2009

MONTEGO BAY, St James - When eleven-year-old Kayle Mighty dons his graduation cap next week, the 90 per cent average he achieved in the Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT) will not be far from his mind.

Kayle is one of 23 students from a little-known school in rural St James, Buckingham All Age, who were successful in the GSAT. The institution's achievements often go unnoticed in favour of more popular primary and preparatory institutions. But the school, located ten miles from Montego Bay in the district of Hopeton, has seen steady improvements in the performance of its students despite constant struggles with illiteracy and scarce resources.

"When I came here, illiteracy was rampant," said Marcia Findlaytor-Dixon, principal of five years. "There were a lot of students here who could not read."

In five years, the work of a team of dedicated teachers led by a determined, visionary principal has turned the school into a premier learning institution. Kayle, who is the head boy, will receive the Principal's Trophy for the highest GSAT scores and a special award for being thetop performing boy.

"I want to be a pilot because I would love to fly around to meet people and see other places around the world," he said. His grade six teacher Cossett Allen described him as a self-motivated, high achiever who commands the respect of his classmates. She also said he takes his school work seriously and likes to read.

"It's more than like, I love to read," he interjected, which might explain his 95 per cent score in Language Arts, his favourite subject.

But Dixon admits that rural schools like Buckingham often receive little in the way of government resources and its location puts it out of the way for charitable assistance from corporate entities.

However, a vibrant Past Students Association and a hard-working board chairman, businessman Patrick Casserly, have worked tirelessly to ensure that the school is properly equipped to deliver the best quality education to its students. A refurbished classroom has been converted into a reading room and two reading specialists whose salaries paid by a benefactor have been employed. Now the school is well on its way to ensuring that 100 per cent of its graduates are literate. This year, 23 students will graduate from the reading room in the school's graduation exercise, alongside the grade six graduates.

"Children graduate from the reading room when they are independent readers, and are awarded certificates to motivate and encourage them," said Dixon.

The investment in the reading programme has paid off with a 50 per cent increase in passes in the Grade Four Literacy Test from 26 per cent in 2006 to 76 per cent in 2008. There has also been improvement in performance in the Grade Nine Acheivement Test (GNAT) with 100 per cent pass in 2008, including the awarding of a track scholarship.

With or without state help, the school is advancing steadily and Dixon is moving full speed ahead with the next phase of the institution's development plan - getting the parents and the community involved. A parenting conference on July 12 will explore critical issues such as attendance and its impact on learning, the importance of buying books and the parents' role in school development in a bid to strengthen the relationship between the parents and the institution.

"If we are going to achieve the school's vision, then the parents must play their part," the principal explained. "We want them to be actively involved in their children's lives and in the running of the school. We want to get their support so we can achieve our goals of comprehensive education for all the students."

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