St. Catherine Festival Queen Embarks on Literacy Project

Students of the Children’s First Achievement Centre (CFAC) in Spanish Town will benefit from a Reading and Literacy Project, being undertaken by reigning Miss St. Catherine Festival Queen, Danene Cruickshank.

The project, which will begin on January 23, was officially launched today (January 14) at the CFAC’s Adelaide Street location.

Each year, winners of the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission’s (JCDC) parish and national Festival Queen competitions, are asked to establish community and national projects geared towards education, children and youth development.

Miss Cruickshank said the idea to start the programme was conceptualized, while offering her services as a volunteer at the CFAC, where she observed that the students had challenges with reading and writing, and were performing below their grade levels.

She noted that “many of the students have reading issues because they are not certain of letter blend. Some are not able to identify vowels or to spell words correctly.”

As part of the project, she said that teachers at the facility were trained at the Mico Care Centre to administer the Mico Diagnostic Kit, which will be used to assess each student’s reading level in order to provide the appropriate materials and instructions.

Teachers will receive guidance and instruction from literacy specialists and special educators from the Mico University, in executing the project. Students will attend the literacy classes on Fridays.

Miss Cruickshank, who works as a Guidance Counsellor at the CFAC, said she is nervous but also excited about the project.

“I think there are students here, who have special needs, and I want to assist them because they can learn and I want it to happen,” she said.

The St. Catherine Queen is urging citizens of Spanish Town to support the work of the centre, by volunteering their services. Teachers as well as persons, who are interested in special education, are welcome, she said.

“We could use the help because, even though we have our trained teachers, there is a lot to manage since every student is at a different level,” she pointed out. Miss Cruickshank is hoping that the project will continue throughout the remainder of the school year and beyond.

“My hope is that it will keep going and the children do not leave the same way they came in and they will see the importance of literacy,” she said.

Attending the launching ceremony were the Mayor of Spanish Town, Councilor Norman Scott, as well as officials from the JCDC, and Mico University.

The CFAC is a non-government organization, which caters to at- risk youth, ages 10-16, as well as their families.