THOUGH located at 8 Rhoden Crescent in the volatile St Andrew West Central area, principal of Penwood High School, Donna McLaren says in 2020 the school and its administration are dedicated to breaking the stigma attached to the institution.

In a conversation about last year’s experience at Penwood, McLaren highlighted that 2019 was one of the best years in terms of academic performance and added infrastructure for the students. And, the hope is that the upward trajectory will continue for 2020.

The sub-standard academic performance and high levels of insolence that is largely associated with the school is often highlighted widely. And the positive aspects of the school and its development in recent years is oftentimes not in the spotlight. Even parents at times stigmatise the institution because of its location according to McLaren. However, the school has put out and now has excellent students enrolled. “I don’t believe that where you are geographically should define your future, I don’t believe that. We have to try and make an impact,” the principal stated.

Like many other schools across Jamaica, students come in with many social, academic, and financial problems that the administration and parents have to partner to address. However, at Penwood there is a low parent-teacher partnership rate that the principal intends to improve this year. “One of the issues that we have here is low parental support. The parents are not really involved in some of the students’ lives, so generally the parental support is low.”

“The first PTA meeting the school is full and the second one it just dwindles,” McLaren added.

Yet the administration of the school continues to tell the parents that there is value in education, McLaren stated. “You have to go to school and do the work to succeed,” she insists.

The school believes that at the end of the day, it has what is necessary to propel the students further into success. Students have entered the school at the grade 7 level without being able to read and as a result the school, over time, implemented two reading laboratories, as it maintains that reading is a fundamental part of academic success.

“One of the things a lot of people don’t understand in terms of inner-city schools is that the percentage that the students come into the school with is below 40, therefore if they come in with a grade below 40 per cent, it simply means that we have to work double time harder to bring them up to examination level,” stated the principal as she added that this task was not an easy one.

To further assist students, the school implemented Easter Camp, which is not a regular part of the school structure, in an effort to improve the CSEC (Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate) results. Last year saw the first cohort of the Easter Camp which runs in conjunction with regular extra lessons and Saturday classes.

Founded in 1965, Penwood High School has come a far way in terms of infrastructure, and recently the Ministry of Education funded the construction of a new 42 seater ICT Laboratory that was officially opened in October. The lab boasts 30 desktop computers donated by CSEC and 12 additional computers purchased by the school.

The principal highlighted that given the launch of E-testing for CXC (Caribbean Examinations Council) later this year, the addition of a lab will aid the school during the examination period. The school now has two labs that could seat 82 students at a time. The principal expressed that with CSEC introducing E-testing, the institution did not want the students to go to another school in order to sit their examinations, as this would affect their level of focus for the exam period.

Therefore, the prevailing view is that construction and outfitting of the new lab is timely.

Also new for the institution is the introduction of CAPE (Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination). This year, 10 students from Penwood will sit CAPE – a historic feat. “We are doing two subjects at the CAPE level this year, though we don’t have a structured six form,” McLaren stated.

Management of Business (MoB) and Theatre Arts are the two subjects being taught at the CAPE level at Penwood. For 2020, the institution hopes to construct a new auditorium by significantly upgrading what is now used as the hall, and purchase a much-needed school bus. The principal stated that fund-raisers are being planned to offset the cost of both.

Since the school is located in an area that has been significantly affected by crime, with the implementation of the State of Emergency (SoE) in the area, there is a certain level of peace that the security forces have tried to maintain. The principal said that Penwood High is on occasion used as a base for the SoE and thus far she is pleased with their presence. “There was a situation last year where school was closed for two days due to the operations carried out by the security forces,” she said, but outside of that instance, the school is affected in a positive way.

Students have in recent times expressed having to take weapons to school in an effort to protect themselves as gang violence and crime was rampant. However, the school now has a scanner used by the school’s security on entry, to ensure no weapons are brought onto the school’s compound.

In giving her commendations, Principal McLaren lauded the teachers at the school as she stated, “The staff is absolutely relatable. They sometimes go into their pockets to pay for exams for students unable to do so at times.” She continued: “Last year the chairman paid for a student to sit nine CSEC subjects and she passed all nine.”

The positive impact that the staff has had on the students is something to be highlighted at this ‘inner-city school’. The administration believes that with perseverance, each student will be impacted. “We know their background, but we still have to be committed to them and their education,” McLaren highlighted, suggesting that the issues faced by the school are no different from other schools, although the compliance rate at most other institutions may be higher.

The school is therefore working assiduously to increase the compliance of students at the institution by all means. McLaren stated that, “We are the proxy parents, whether we like it or not. And they are in our care, so we have to make sure that everything is done in the best interest of the student.”