PRINCIPAL Vilma Woodfine and the staff of independent school El Shaddai Learning Centre are feeling vindicated this year, after an excellent showing by the Grade Six Achievement Test cohort, all of whom have been placed at traditional high schools of their first choice.

The school, located in Portmore, St Catherine was, in February last year slapped with a cease and desist order from the Portmore Municipal Court after the Portmore Municipal Council initiated complaints and subsequent legal proceedings against the institution for what it contends is a breach of covenant.

The matter is still before the courts, but Woodfine is holding up her students as reasons the school should be allowed to continue operating.

With an average score of 99.8 per cent, head girl Julae Duncan is headed to Wolmer’s Girls’, as is Sheniel McKnight, who scored 96.46 per cent. Keziah Palmer, with an average of 93.8 per cent, is headed to Ardenne High. Zhuri McEwan, 91.92 per cent; Jamilla Frankson, 88.8 per cent; and Sonita Birthwirght, 85.2 per cent have secured places at Convent of Mercy Academy ‘Alpha’; while Jakeem English, 82.8 per cent will be attending Cedar Grove Academy in the municipality.

Woodfine, who also teaches the grade five and six classes at El Shaddai, has erected a wall of honour for this year’s GSAT students, and also spoke highly of her former students.

“If you go to any of the traditional institutions in Kingston, you will find El Shaddai students there,” she asserted, going on to list some of the names.

Addressing the order to shutter the school, Woodfine maintains that she has no intention of breaking any rules, but questioned the apparent contradiction with other establishments operating within the same residential community.

“We had been here for eight years (10 years as at 2015), then we got a letter, in May of 2013, stating that we were acting against the covenant because we are operating in a residential setting, so we were breaking the municipal law,” Woodfine told Career and Education on Thursday.

She said the school subsequently made contact with the council seeking clarification and assistance, but claims the approach was snubbed. She told the newspaper that the council said she had previously been warned, a claim which the principal denies.

“They said ‘no’, because this is not the first time. But that is not true, Woodfine protested. “We have never received any notice that we were supposed to move, and to date they cannot prove or give evidence that they had given us any such notice before. We made several attempts in appealing to them, saying this is a good school. We showed them records of our passes, not only in GSAT, but we have got 100 per cent passes in literacy… and they said, ‘No, (you) are to relocate. We had to move,” she recounted.

The principal said classes were suspended for two days after the order was issued, but with the assistance of Water, Land, Environment and Climate Change minister, Robert Pickersgill, the order it was subsequently overturned. The newspaper was unable to independently verify the claim, as Pickersgill was in a meeting when we called his office and he did not immediately return the call.

When Career & Education visited the school on Thursday, classes were in full swing, with 51 out of the 55 registered students present. This, according to Woodfine, is down from a total of 85 before the issues with the municipal council. She also said that two of her six teachers have left, forcing others to “double up” on classes. There is one class per grade.

“Whatever the reason they are targeting El Shaddai, all I am concerned with is: I just want education to continue,” said a passionate Woodfine. “El Shaddai don’t want to break the law. It’s a small environment. Our students are learning, our students are happy. And we just want to continue that.”

She pointed out, however, that the school was not at odds with the municipal council.

“We are not an enemy of the municipality. We want to contribute to the municipality. We want to be a viable entity in Portmore to contribute to the development of Portmore,” she contended.

The school is a part of the Jamaica Independent Schools Association (JISA) and has not yet secured full approval of the Ministry of Education, which it is in the process of doing, Woodfine said.

The principal acknowledges that moving to a different location might be a good thing for El Shaddai, in terms of growth, but she refuses to accept that the institution, which began as a homework centre, could be closed.

“I would love a piece of land so that more students in Portmore can have the El Shaddai experience. I know that minister (Pickersgill) is going to help us,” she said.

Head girl and top GSAT student at the school, Julae Duncan, is hopeful that the school remains open, explaining that she was very sad when she had heard of its possible closure.

“I ask them kindly not to close the school because it is a friendly environment. Even though we are small, we have a loving atmosphere and everyone is kind to each other. The teachers teach us a lot. But not only that, if we are absent they will call us and ask us what’s wrong,” a shy Duncan said.