GLENDEVON, St James — Nestled within the heart of a community once described as a hotbed of violence and crime, Glendevon Primary School in St James continues to excel against the odds.

Among the initiatives that have shaped its success is the United Kingdom’s (UK) Inter-Ministerial School Support Strategy (ISSS) which recently hosted the Inter-Ministerial Mathematics Competition in which the school swept both regional and national titles in the lower primary (grades one to three) and upper primary (grades four to six) categories. It took home six trophies and a raft of mathematics gadgets as a result of the win.

“We’re elated. We’re excited, being an inner-city school, and I must tell you that six of those [eight] participants were boys. We are elated that the boys are really getting into the maths initiatives. They are part of the Maths Club, and they are really progressing,” said a proud Principal Audrey Lee-Peynado during an interview with the
Jamaica Observer Monday.

She proudly pointed to other wins such as one of the students who entered the competition now being enrolled at Herbert Morrison Technical High School after being awarded a government scholarship based on his impressive Primary Exit Profile (PEP) scores.

The maths competition is held each April during maths week celebration for schools within the zones of special operations (ZOSO). Glendevon is one of the schools located within the Ministry of Education’s Region Four where a ZOSO is in place.

Lee-Peynado explained the inter-ministerial committee’s role in staging the contest.

“They have a team that looks at mathematics. They offer help in different areas of violence prevention. They have different activities for schools within the zone of the region; initiatives to help stem the violence in certain areas and to get children ready,” she said.

“We thought it would fit for us to enter [the contest] and because we are also part of the inter-ministerial because we are actually an inner-city school,” Lee-Peynado added.

In 2021 Glendevon Primary became a part of ISSS, which was implemented through the Government’s Citizen Security Plan. This initiative has provided literacy training, restorative justice programmes, and psychosocial support to both students and parents.

“We have benefited from literacy training for our teachers. Also, we have benefited in the sense that our guidance counsellors went into workshops — three violence prevention programmes. We are part of the school-wide positive behavioural programme. We have been benefiting from them in numerous ways,” stressed Lee-Peynado.

“When we identify youth at risk, then we have programmes for them. They were part of the bold, artistic, aspirational programme where our girls were trained in taekwondo. The boys were part of a football training camp. We have benefited a lot. Over 50 of our students got their eyes tested in partnership with the Canadian Government under this programme as well. Our parents, students, and teachers were also trained in restorative justice practices,” she added.

The school principal said she expects the school to continue benefiting from the ISSS initiative.

“We have seen the benefits and we intend to be better in the future. With these programmes and initiatives we expect to excel academically as we continue to model our motto ‘Achieving Excellence Together’. We realised that we cannot do it alone. It’s a triangle. The whole community, the parents, our supporters from different ministries, we welcome them on board because we know that a great partnership builds great schools. If we continue on this pathway, we will even do better than last year,” predicted a confident Lee-Peynado.

The principal said since the initiative the school has been performing better than it did two years ago, surpassing the national average of 70 per cent for the Primary Exit Profile (PEP) exam. In the past the school was at 59 per cent, but it is now at 75 per cent.

“Five years ago, for PEP, we were not achieving averages above the national level, but for the past three years, especially for two years, we surpassed the national average in our subject area,” she pointed out.

The principal said the school has been receiving good feedback from parents who are now showing increased interest in the institution and the children.

“They now talk more about their school. They are owning their school. They’re seeing the success, and they’re encouraging the children. They are on board with us, so they come in from time to time. They check up on them. Whatever we’re having, they’re part of it. The parents are elated. The [residents are] really buzzing with joy at this time and excitement that something wonderful is happening in their community,” stated the principal, who added that the school currently shares a good relationship with the community.

Founded 48 years ago, Glendevon Primary now serves 383 students with a staff of 17 teachers and two guidance counsellors.