If one is looking for a case study in the role of leadership in improving school performance, then Godfrey Stewart High School, formerly Savanna-la-Mar Comprehensive High School, is a classic example.

Once plagued by low levels of academic performance coupled with negative behaviours, the school is gradually becoming Westmoreland’s centre for mathematics, which is no mean feat as, according to the school’s website, “incoming students are usually at the lower end of the academic continuum with only 18 – 25 per cent of them functionally literate”.

The turnaround is due, in part, to the intervention of the Mutual Building Societies Foundation, under whose auspices Jamaica National Building Society (JNBS) and The Victoria Mutual Building Society (VMBS) implemented the $100 million Centres of Excellence school leadership programme, from 2008 to 2013.

“In the past, students from other schools in the parish never even glanced over here. Now, students are coming from several other institutions because they want Mr McLeod and our teachers to teach them,” principal Theobold Fearon said in reference to head of the maths department, Oneal McLeod.

Since the arrival of McLeod, whom the Ministry of Education, in partnership with JNBS last month named the country’s top mathematics teacher, the school’s performance in maths has improved dramatically. In his first year, the number of passes grew from 17 to 41, six of which were at grade one. This, in a school where distinctions were never before achieved. Two years later, the maths passes shot up to 96, and now the school is working hard to increase that from the current 40 per cent of the fifth form cohort, to 204 passes, or 80 per cent of the cohort.

“We’ve grown so much that next year we’re going to recommend another teacher for the Mathematics Teacher of the Year,” principal Fearon disclosed. “We’re already on our way to being the centre for maths in Westmoreland and we want to be recognised in Jamaica as the school that does extremely well in mathematics,” he declared.

The school was renamed in honour of educator G W Stewart in 2000.

Prior to 2009, when it enrolled in the Centres for Excellence programme, the police were often called in at Godfrey Stewart, and teachers spent much of their time quelling fights instead of teaching and facilitating learning.

“Godfrey Stewart was famous at the courthouse and at the police station,” Fearon acknowledged. “There are still issues here, and we still have a few fights; however, the police no longer need to be called to control violence.”

Added to those disciplinary challenges were negatives from the community and the home environments, as well as leadership deficiencies within the school itself. In addition, the relationship between teachers was poor, and accountability was low.

“Several teachers were comfortable with not writing lesson plans, for example. They came to school whenever they felt like; and attendance and punctuality were poor,” Fearon said, reflecting on the environment which he inherited, having been appointed Principal in 2008. Those challenges would continue into the first year of the Centres of Excellence programme.

Following a series of capacity-building sessions and hands-on initiatives, however, middle managers — heads of departments and grade coordinators — began to appreciate their roles and responsibilities and although there was some resistance, change soon began to take effect.

“Godfrey’s breakthrough came as a result of the fearless approach adopted by Principal Fearon,” commented Dr Renee Rattray, director, Education Programmes, at JN Foundation, who led the Centres of Excellence as Programme Manager.

“He was militant and did not accept excuses. He demonstrated a zero-tolerance stance on low expectations, and set the bar high. He found a critical mass of teachers and parents who were committed to seeing change happen and worked tirelessly with this group to champion the movement for change,” she told the

Jamaica Observer.

Dr Rattray said the buy-in from the parents and school leaders was so great that they held Parent Teachers’ Association meetings in the town of Savanna-la-Mar and surrounding communities to herald that there was a “new day” at the institution.

“They created road signs and named each corridor in the school based on the values they wanted students to adopt. For example, there was: Honesty Avenue, Disciplined Pathway, and Respect Street. The school completely turned around,” Dr Rattray emphasised, also pointing to the higher standards in academic performance and behaviour.

“What we do now is more accountable,” Vice-principal Emily Ricketts commented. “And using data effectively is a core element of the strengthened accountability.”

She also explained that every term the heads of departments, especially those representing the core subjects of mathematics, English and science, are mandated to meet with the school board to analyse and evaluate what happened during the previous term, and indicate how they plan to use what they learned to inspire the next group of students. Lesson plans must be produced regularly and on time, using the rubric from the Centres of Excellence programme, and each term, teachers are issued with report cards grading their own performance.

“Teachers understand their roles and document what they do, not only to indicate that they have done it, but that they understand why it was done,” vice-principal Ricketts noted. “The principles under the Centres of Excellence have, therefore, become a part of us and we’re keeping it,” she added.

As a result, students at Godfrey Stewart have experienced significant improvements not only in maths, but also in English. Some 100 students passed English from a cohort of 274 last year. And although that may seem low, it’s 36 more than the number that passed in 2014, and nearly 50 more than those who passed in 2009. The performance in IT has also increased, with passes moving from 23 in 2009 to 94 last year; and students are sitting and passing subjects such as chemistry and physics, which were not previously offered.

The obvious improvements have energised former students, some of whom have renewed their interest in their alma mater. In fact, the school recently received a boost of US$2,000 from a past student who established and heads the alumni chapter for Florida/Bahamas.

“This is my school and I’m committed to giving back as much as I can,” said Devon Dobson, who works in the construction sector in the Bahamas. He attended school during the same period as current Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett and his brother, former Member of Parliament Dr St Aubyn Bartlett.

“The transformation over the years has been gradual, but quite obvious,” commented Anthony Stubbs, President of the Godfrey Stewart High School Past Students’ Association. “There has been renewed interest from the alumni, thanks to the Centres of Excellence. It is a case history which we are using to influence our stakeholders and volunteers to respond to our current needs.”