FIRST Global and the Ministry of the Education are partnering on an initiative titled Music — Perfect Pitch For A Sound Education. The project was launched in September 2011.

Through this programme, Grade 3 students in six primary schools across the island will benefit from the use of music as a vehicle for teaching literacy and numeracy. The participating schools are Seward Primary and Junior High, Duhaney Park Primary, Central Branch (St Andrew), John Rollins Primary, Bickersteth Primary (St James), and McIntosh Primary (Manchester).

First Global has already provided over $1million worth of musical equipment to the participating schools while the Ministry of Education will provide the necessary guidance and educational material.

So far, several First Global-sponsored workshops, geared towards sharing best practices for teaching with music, have been held in Kingston and Montego Bay. The workshops saw experts in the fields of music, literacy and numeracy sharing their skills and knowledge with the participating teachers.

The official spokesperson for the project is reggae artiste Alaine.

“I can relate to it very well, because music has played a tremendous role in my life,” she said. “There’s a serious issue with our children grasping the essentials of reading, writing, and maths, and this music in school initiative provides a golden opportunity for Grade 3 students to experience the rewards of learning music.”

Robert Drummond, president of First Global Financial Services, said Alaine was chosen the official face of this programme, because we believe that she is an excellent role model for these students. As someone who is highly musically literate, she can speak first-hand about the impact that music literacy has had on her literacy and numeracy skills and development.”