Jonathan Overcomes Behavioural Challenges to Excel In PEP

*Jonathan Smith will be attending a prestigious high school in Kingston come September after outstanding results in the 2023 Primary Exit Profile (PEP).

In fact, he emerged the top student of the small primary school that he attended in rural St. Catherine.

“I feel good to know that I have accomplished and done well in my exams and about attaining the top student award,” a proud Jonathan shares with JIS News, after collecting the award at the recent graduation ceremony.
“I did not expect to get the top title,” he says.

As the various awards were being called out, he says “my anxiety was very high, I was even getting cold,” but when he was named the top student “I was very excited and had a feeling of relief”.

Jonathan’s achievement is a major turnaround for the student, who had behavioural problems and was on the verge of being expelled while in grade five.

His parents, determined to not give up on their son, appealed to the principal, who agreed to give the youngster another chance and took him under her wings.

With the support of his parents, principal and teachers, Jonathan was able to achieve the turnaround in attitude and behaviour needed to focus on his schoolwork and pursue a path towards realising his full potential.

Jonathan is expressing gratitude and appreciation for all the support during his journey. Looking back, he says, he realises the hurt and discomfort that he caused persons.

“I said to myself, that I have to change. I have decided that I want to be a better person,” Jonathan tells JIS News, noting that he continues to change over time.

“To my principal, thank you for taking the time out of your busy days [to work with me], and allowing me to be in your school so that I could shine,” he says.

Elated by Jonathan’s transformation, Acting Chief Education Officer, Dr. Kasan Troupe, says that the system “has been infused with skillsets to manage disruptive students”.

“Our students have potential, but some are exposed to child-adverse experiences which can overwhelm many of their parents. So, from time to time, we are going to have children who will challenge us, and… will need more attention than others,” she points out.

In those challenging cases, Dr. Troupe says, special attention can make a big difference, noting that Jonathan’s achievement is proof that no child should be left behind.

“This story is telling principals and teachers, don’t give up, try one more time,” she says.

“I am pleased that he got a second chance. I am pleased to know that the principal reached out in a personal way. It was a difficult student, but… we have put in resources in our schools to treat with very difficult children,” she points out.

The Acting Chief Education Officer says in the coming months there will be increased collaboration among deans of discipline, guidance counsellors, school nurses, and family life educators, to ensure that personal and challenging issues affecting students are “purposefully tackled with the available skills in the system.”

Meanwhile, Jonathan’s mother shares that she always believed in her son’s ability to do good, and on the day when she heard of his success in the PEP exams, she reminded him that “he has so much in him.”

“He is a naturally gifted student, he just needed to do his work and calm down,” she notes.

She shares that as parents, they will redouble their efforts in the years ahead to ensure that he stays on track.

“We are the parents, and we have to make sure that we see the process through, and this is just the beginning,” she says.

Jonathan’s father expresses gratitude to the principal for “listening to the Lord and allowing the Lord to use her in the right way for [his son] to come around”.

He also thanks the grade-six teacher for her support. “She is a wonderful teacher,” he tells JIS News.

The school Principal tells JIS News that the school is committed to deliver on its core value to mould and build young people.

“We knew that [Jonathan] had issues but we were able to work with him. We were willing to give him a chance, because we realised that he has the potential, and what we are about is ensuring that every child gets the foundation of a good education,” she says.

The Principal shares that Jonathan’s case confirms that “all things are possible. At times, it is those children who we write off, those are the ones who will rise to the occasion, and we have seen it first-hand here”.

“It took a lot, many times I wanted to give up… but then the person that I am, I believe that every child deserves an opportunity. If it were my child, I would have wanted the opportunity as well. It was a team effort,” she says.

The Principal says that Jonathan now has the opportunity to use his experience to inspire students with similar behavioural challenges to change.

“Going into a bigger setting where he will find other children from different backgrounds, I hope that he will use it to let them know that he did it and they can too,” she says.

*Not Real Name