MORE than 150 families, 250 students and 140 educators — including teachers, school administrators and deaf culture facilitators — participated in and continue to benefit from the Partnership for Literacy Enhancement for the Deaf (PLED) project, which was designed to address gaps and advance literacy development among deaf and hard-of-hearing (D/HH) students in Jamaica.

The three-year PLED project funded by United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in partnership with Jamaica Association for the Deaf (JAD) mobilised a diverse pool of local and international stakeholders for the design, development and piloting of the Jamaica Sign Language Grammar Curriculum (JSLGC) among eight schools for the deaf at the primary and secondary levels.

Minister of Education Fayval Williams described the launch of the learning management system (LMS) for the JSLGC as a good day for Jamaica

“The Curriculum Unit and Special Education Unit have both reviewed the [JSL] curriculum at various stages of development, and have approved it as a complementary curriculum to the National Standards Curriculum,” she said at the recent ceremony.

The schools for the deaf now boast an improved curriculum and related resources to support bilingual approach to deaf education and literacy development.

Under the programme, D/HH students participated in a structured series of learning activities, which informed the direction and areas for improvement.

The JSLGC is anchored in a bilingual philosophy, which recognises academic proficiency in the first language of the student as a vital component for success. It was designed with nine levels, each being a prerequisite for the next.

The PLED project has allowed the JAD to continue its commitment to ensuring that a robust education system is in place for D/HH children. This required deliberate efforts such as capacity-building of instructors, policy design and implementation, parental support, partnership and the design of a specialised Jamaican Sign Language Grammar Curriculum.

Key partners include the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information; Jamaica National Foundation; Early Grade Reading; Seventh-day Adventist Church of Jamaica; Digicel Foundation; Georgia State University; University of Connecticut; British Council; National Youth Service; as well as a cadre of parents, trainers, school leaders and secondary students across the eight participating schools. Findings from this pilot reflected a 37 per cent growth in the number of students attaining a score of 80 per cent or more on the JSL-based tests.

The students’ performance on an equivalent English test improved dramatically, with a 45 per cent growth in the number of students who attained mastery scores in the subject.

These and other programme findings indicate that the new JSL approach has the potential to bridge the gap between JSL grammar and the learning of English as a second language. The findings further point to new learning opportunities for D/HH students across other core academic areas.

“Recognising that the deaf and hard of hearing students’ learning needs were not being met, USAID partnered with the JAD to give these children a chance to change their future,” said USAID Director of the Office of Citizen Security Shannon Stone.

“We celebrate JAD’s success in pioneering the JSL Grammar Curriculum across all schools for the deaf in Jamaica as well as the development of a customised LMS which will host critical, digital, educational resources as well as other information products, which was not part of the original project but [is a show of] innovation at its best,” she said.