Located off the main road just over a mile west of Santa Cruz, St Elizabeth, Park Mountain Primary and Infant School has for many years been an institution of choice for parents and their children.

Yet, negatives are plain to see.

To begin with, there is no space for a dedicated playing field — an inadequacy much too common place in Jamaican primary and infant schools.

Even before the devastating impact of Hurricane Melissa’s flood rains in late October, the badly scarred and potholed access road was a source of torture. And, for a long time right after the storm, that road became well nigh impassable.

As was the case for schools throughout western Jamaica, the destruction of infrastructure at Park Mountain Primary and Infant School was such that teaching and learning did not resume for weeks.

Also, of course, Melissa’s impact on public utilities in western Jamaica was, and remains, extreme.

For the school at Park Mountain in the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains, electricity from Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS) only returned in late February. Service from National Water Commission is yet to return, so too traditional Internet service, necessitating a turn to Mr Elon Musk’s Starlink.

What is not in question, and has remained consistent down the years at Park Mountain Primary and Infant, is the quality and dedication of the teaching staff, brilliantly marshalled by principal, Mrs Carlene Williams-Heath.

Park Mountain’s extraordinary achievement in producing the top primary school student in the recently concluded round of examinations to complete the 2026 Primary Exit Profile, despite the ravages of the hurricane, vindicates long-running trust and faith from parents.

However, even as we applaud that success, it should be recognised that praise should also extend far and wide across western Jamaica to educators who have exceeded expectations in even more disadvantageous circumstances.

Let’s also recognise that, even in those areas only minimally affected, or not at all, by the infamous storm, teaching and learning often take place in very challenging conditions.

We are reminded of that painful reality by news that garbage dumped by uncaring people, and the resulting rat infestation, renders life “nightmarish” at Maxfield Park Primary School in Kingston.

Principal Ms Tracey-Ann Holloway-Richards charges: “If they [garbage collectors] come and clean it up today, by tomorrow — I can guarantee you — you will see the garbage [pile-up] return.”

We are told that teachers and students at Maxfield Park Primary routinely walk through garbage and rodents pose extreme threat to health and well being.

Lest we forget, Jamaica does have an anti-litter law intended to deter behaviour such as happens in the vicinity of Maxfield Park Primary. The authorities need to apply the law not only there but everywhere across Jamaica.

If the penalties for littering are too light, they should be appropriately strengthened.

Whatever needs to be done to prevent and punish outright nastiness should be done.

Ms Holloway-Richards tells us that, “I have children at my school [from deprived socio-economic backgrounds] who don’t have a bathroom at their house. They have no running water…. And then to come to school now and to see this [wanton dumping of garbage] in front of them, that’s demotivating.”

As a people, as a country, we must do better.