Chapelton Primary School Looking to Boost Student Learning Outcomes

Following the success of scores of its recent Primary Exit Profile (PEP) examination candidates, the administration of Chapelton Primary School in Clarendon is looking to ensure that student learning challenges wrought by COVID-19 remain a distant memory.

Principal, Christine Monroe Walters, tells JIS News that the pandemic had a near-devastating effect on the school, noting that more than half of the students, particularly the PEP candidates, were not able to access online classes.

She says with support from the Ministry of Education and Youth’s ‘Yard to Yard, Find the Child’ initiative, the school’s teachers and administration embarked on a special mission.

“We got social workers and were able to employ four young people, and with the guidance counsellors, we found our children,” the Principal shares.

The Ministry also supplied computer tablets to the needy students.

This intervention was ably supported by the donation of gadgets by past students of the school to ensure that all enrolled youngsters could participate in online classes.

Mrs. Monroe Walters says numerous community interests rallied around the school, while noting that business stakeholders visited the homes of students whose parents were experiencing economic challenges and provided them with basic necessities.

The Principal advised that on the resumption of face-to-face classes, the school’s staff had to be very creative to ensure that the children were at the required levels to sit the PEP exams.

“We created classes specifically for boys, and we gendered classes. Together, as a team, we tried to make a difference, and it is paying off. We are on a mission to eradicate illiteracy in the school, and we are poised to do that,” she declares.

Mrs. Monroe Walters says the students successfully sitting PEP recently made significant strides in their exams.

She notes that it was a worrying period for the teachers when they entered grade six, because of low out-turns recorded by a number of the youngsters.

The Principal says when she saw the results, they confirmed that their mission was accomplished, adding that the youngsters who are now attending high school are fully motivated for the years ahead.

“Already, we have our plans in place, the teachers are in place, and we have strategically placed the teachers, in order to reap the success,” she adds.

Mrs. Monroe Walters has high praises for Chapelton Primary’s top female PEP candidate, Rha Allison, whom she describes as an “awesome student”,

Additionally, she says the top male student, Jahmalee Williamson, stood out as a “critical thinker”, pointing out that both have been benefiting from strong parental guidance.

“The children who have strong family support, they do well. Family is awesome. Just having somebody in your corner serves as important motivation for the education process,” the Principal contends.

Rha, who is now a student at Glenmuir High School in May Pen, Clarendon, tells JIS News that emerging as Chapelton Primary’s top female PEP candidate was an “amazing” feeling.

She credits the teachers who spent time to ensure that they understood the lessons, while describing the school as a “nice institution”.

Jahmalee, who also attends Glenmuir, says he was rewarded for hard work.

“When I am home I’m always on my phone doing my schoolwork or playing some sort of games that help me with my work,” he shares.

Jahmalee says his teachers at Chapelton were “always pushing you to do your best.”

Another top male student, Dawayne McLean, who is also at Glenmuir High, says he is grateful to his parents and teachers, because “all of them pushed me and told me that I could be the best, and encouraged me to do all that I could do to pass for a great school.”

Grade-six teacher at Chapelton Primary, Pauline Watson Fearon, says she was particularly delighted because “I always work for that [success], and I always want my work to be shown”.

Parent, Jacqueline Osbourne notes that the school “has some good motivating teachers, starting from grade one, and from they get a good start they will pull through”.

Another parent, Wayne McLean, says his son told him close to the start of the PEP exams that there was nothing to worry about.

“He has this confidence in him, and the first thing for him in the morning is his tablet,” he shares.

The format of the PEP examination sittings, which commenced during the 2018/19 academic year, had to be modified in 2020, 2021 and 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic,

This year represents the first time the Education Ministry can fully compare the results with that of 2019.

The Ministry’s data show that in the 2023 sitting, girls outperformed boys in Mathematics and Language Arts. Boys recorded better results in Science and Social Studies.

The data further show that in Mathematics, 54.4 per cent of the students deemed proficient are females, with males accounting for 44.4 per cent.

A total of 18,451 males and 17,653 females sat this year’s exams.