Dear Editor,

Anyone who understands community development knows that schools are not just places of teaching and learning; they are important symbols within communities. Just think about the Hope Road community without Campion College or the National Heroes Circle community without the Wolmer’s schools. Think about the new North Street community without Kingston College and St George’s College.

For outsiders, merging Trench Town and Charlie Smith is an easy fiscal decision. For residents, it is an emotional decision that will not happen without a fight. It is a fight, however, that is just getting started with students padlocking the school gate. It is a fight that must be avoided with creative thinking.

For years, I have suggested that Trench Town, Tivoli Gardens and Charlie Smith high schools should become model signature institutions. As an outlier, Denham Town High, I believe, should become the parish (Kingston and St Andrew) high school for pregnant schoolgirls, young mothers, and other ‘second chance’ students.

Trench Town High should become a 100 per cent signature school of written, voice and instrument music (Trench Town High School of Music). In addition, it should expose students to the production and business of music. A perfect fit; Trench Town has long been associated with music — Bob Marley said, ‘mi come from Trench Town’. Over time, Trench Town would not only produce better DJs, it would produce opera singers, and instrumental musicians to sustain a national orchestra. Trench Town would become the incubator of music teachers (primary schools have strong music programmes beginning in the third grade).

Unlike Trench Town, Tivoli Gardens and Charlie Smith should continue to be comprehensive high schools; meaning, they would accept other students. However, they each should have an embedded signature programme. Tivoli Gardens High should be a 40 per cent signature school with a programme in the performing arts. Tivoli Gardens High would produce dancers of different styles, actors and actresses, film-makers, film producers, camera operators and scriptwriters. Charlie Smith should be a 40 per cent signature school with a STEM programme that would help Jamaica produce more engineers, medical scientists, mathematicians and computer scientists.

Given the uniqueness of those programmes, the hope is that this would attract different socio-economic groups of students (parents) to those schools; therefore, fermenting a subtle revolution to transform those sometimes volatile communities.

Michael Brown

Washington, DC

miguelbro@yahoo.com