Highgate Primary and Junior High Commends Gov’t’s Post-Hurricane Reconstruction Support

The leadership of Highgate Primary and Junior High School in St. Mary is lauding the Ministry of Education, Skills, Youth and Information’s Hurricane Melissa Reconstruction Programme following extensive renovation works carried out at the institution during the summer break.

The improvements have helped to facilitate a smooth start to the 2026-27 academic year after the institution sustained extensive damage during the passage of Hurricane Melissa in October 2025, including to its roof and the Grades One and Six blocks, necessitating an emergency procurement contract for repairs.

Principal Karlene Allen told JIS News that general repairs commenced before the end of the 2025-26 summer term.

“I commend the Ministry of Education [and] the building officers from Region Two… because the work was done and ready [in time] for back to school,” she said.

Ms. Allen said the improvements have been warmly welcomed by parents, students and teachers, noting that the positive changes have generated excitement across the school community.

“Parents were really pleased about that, students embraced the changes also, as well as our teachers,” she added.

The Principal noted that despite the disruption caused by the hurricane, the new academic year got off to a smooth start, with orientation activities held a week earlier and approximately 400 of the school’s 450 enrolled students participating in the exercise.

“I’m pleased to say that most of the parents and students turned out for the orientation session and so we hit the ground running,” she added.

Ms. Allen attributed the smooth transition into the new school year, in part, to transportation systems implemented by the Government, noting that the institution serves students from several communities.

“A few students are benefiting from the rural school bus system. But the students in the Islington, White Hall, Harmony Hall areas benefit from the PATH Bus System that the Government has put in place,” she explained.

Meanwhile, Highgate Primary continues to build on its strong tradition of excellence in Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM) education.

The institution was among the schools recognised as community innovators at the 2026 STEAM in Action Expo, the flagship student showcase of Jamaica’s National STEAM Education Week, earning high praise for its eco-centric science project – “From Waste to ‘Wow’”.

While proud of Highgate Primary’s achievements in STEAM, Ms. Allen said academic growth remains the primary focus for the new school year, with emphasis being placed on meeting regional and national literacy and numeracy targets.

“We are now in the process of identifying the challenges and putting interventions in place to address those so that, at the end of the school year, we will all be proud of the academic performance of our students,” she informed.

Meanwhile, Acting Vice-Principal, Myrna Thompson, echoed the Principal’s sentiments, noting that improving students’ performance in mathematics is among her key priorities for the school this year.

“We would love to reach up to par with the national target for this year… not just in the primary school, but in the CSEC (Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate) results,” she said.

Ms. Thompson told JIS News that the institution is benefiting from the services of a mathematics coach provided by the Ministry.

“We have our math teachers here who work assiduously with a math coach that we were given from the ministry and [an] intervention… [is being] worked on as of this week to see how we move forward,” she explained.

The Vice-Principal acknowledged that the hurricane affected the school, as it did others across the country, but praised the Ministry for its support which she described as “tremendous”.

Ms. Thompson pointed out that, while some work remains to be completed, the school community is pleased with the progress made thus far.