APSE Programme Reaping Success at Hopewell High School

Innovative teaching methods are reaping success at Hopewell High School in Hanover, through the Alternative Pathways to Secondary Education (APSE) of the Ministry of Education and Youth, led by English Teacher and Grade-nine Coordinator, Natalie Wedderburn.

Hopewell High School is among a cluster of schools in Region 4 that actively use the APSE to ensure that every child has the best opportunity to succeed academically.

The APSE targets students in grades seven to 13, by utilising a curriculum that enables each child to perform to his/her fullest potential, considering their aptitude, interest and ability.

Mrs. Wedderburn, who is also the Jamaica Teaching Council (JTC) awardee, told JIS News that her award resulted from the work she has been doing with her students.

She highlighted that a significant component that she brings to the APSE programme in Hopewell High is the Response to Intervention (RTI) method, to cater to each child’s individual need.

“So, one of the things I do with my students is the RTI, where we identify support for the students who need extra help academically or behaviourally, and then we continue with them in that support area,” Mrs. Wedderburn said.

“We intentionally take those students, and we focus on them from early. So, some of them need extra academic support, and some of them need behavioural support. We make sure that we do a programme for them that will help them,” she added.

The teacher said she also uses an ‘intention mistake’ strategy, “so, if I’m writing on the board or I’m reading something to them, the mistakes are there, and they need to know what the mistakes are… and then identify what they are and be able to correct them”.

The school is able to boast of producing the Deputy Junior Mayor and Junior Councillor for the Sandy Bay Division, Jada Lewis, which is a testament of Mrs. Wedderburn’s diligence.

She underscored that the school ensures that students get involved in varying external competitions as a way of encouraging them to apply what they have learned.

“We try to take them out of the classroom and take them out into the world where they will be able to use whatever it is that they are learning now in the classroom, because success isn’t really a straight line. It’s about finding the knot in the rope and learning to pull the knot by themselves to achieve what they want to achieve,” Mrs. Wedderburn said.

“I have students who have been in that programme (RTI) from grade nine and when they came, they didn’t know some of the letter sounds, and those students have learned, are reading well now and have gone on to get distinction in City and Guilds,” she added.

She emphasised that although the task of being an educator is not always easy, she is responsible for their well-being and journey to success.

“Sometimes when you step into the classroom you can see that today is the day that students don’t really want to learn anything. However, I try to treat the students the way that I would want the other teachers to treat my kids, and if there is a problem and I see that there is somewhere that I can help out, I am going to just grab that opportunity to help out that student,” Mrs. Wedderburn said.

She pointed out that the big task of being an effective educator surrounds getting to know your students.

“Sometimes we have students out there who we see their behaviour but we really do not see the students, but when you speak to that student one-on-one, you get to know that something went wrong this morning or something is happening at home,” she told JIS News.

Mrs. Wedderburn said that while some students may be out of line, there is normally a root cause, and discovering this will allow students to open up to you.

She noted that respect is a two-way street, and tone of voice plays greatly into how receptive students are to what is being said to them, and “giving them respect, most of the time you get the respect back from them and you are able to work with them”.

Consequently, she maintained that a notable asset in the teaching and learning experience is to be current.

“Ensure that you are professionally developing yourself along the way, because things are changing, the strategies that we use are changing, and the technology is changing. The JTC has a number of mentorship courses and you can grab them and be mentored,” the teacher encouraged.