Almost 50 students in the Corporate Area are set to benefit from three Creative Language-Based Learning’s (CLBL) European Union (EU)-funded summer camps this year.

The camps will be financed to the tune of $4.5 million raised from this year’s EU 5K/10K Run/Walk staged in March, and will benefit students from the Edward Seaga Primary, Holy Family Primary & Infant, and St Andrew Primary schools. Last year 19 students benefited from the proceeds to the EU Run/Walk.

The camps will be hosted jointly by the Ministry of Education and Youth and the CLBL Foundation in an effort to improve literacy levels and reduce the vulnerability to crime and violence.

Speaking at the handover ceremony on Tuesday, CLBL Chair Joseph Matalon said the increased funding from the race will allow the foundation to substantially increase its scope and impact.

“The CLBL will mobilise two coaches, three mentors and 16 trained teachers. The learning session will provide supervised immersive practice for our trained teachers and give participating students a jump-start in reading to prepare for the new school year,” said Matalon.

“We aim to deliver 80 hours of training and professional development for each teacher, exposing them to all aspects of the programme as they engage students with varying learning needs,” added Matalon.

He explained that the participating teachers will nominate students from their classes during the upcoming school year and they will then be assessed to identify their strengths and weaknesses.

“This will be followed by 50 hours of instruction, providing the opportunity to close learning gaps by at least one grade level during the summer,” said Matalon.

In the meantime EU Ambassador to Jamaica Marianne Van Steen said the summer camps can be truly life-changing for the children who have fallen behind in their learning process.

“Education is a cornerstone of the European Union’s global agenda, and it holds special significance in our partnership with Jamaica. We firmly believe that every child deserves access to quality education and the opportunity to succeed,” said Van Steen.

She was supported by Minister of Education and Youth Fayval Williams who told the hand over ceremony that, “This is a welcomed addition to the ministry’s efforts to address areas of weakness in literacy, in how it is taught, how it is learnt in Jamaica.

“Educators all over the world are being constantly challenged to refine existing methodologies or develop new ones to meet the many needs of their student population and this effort will help in that regard”.

The summer camps will run from July 8 to July 26.