St. Lucia’s Minister Visits Windsor School of Special Education

St. Lucia’s Minister of Education, Youth Development, Sports and Digital Transformation, Hon. Danny Butcher, visited the Windsor School of Special Education in Duncan’s Pen, St. Catherine, on Wednesday, March 18.

This was done after he saw beautifully handmade wooden Jamaican gift boxes by the special needs students and their educators of the school, at the inaugural Caribbean Examination Council (CXC) Regional Education Conference and Ministerial Forum, which took place at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston, from March 16 to 18.

“I came here to find out what’s happening. What are some of the best practices that we could learn and maybe bring over to St. Lucia to fit within our context and make it very authentic for our students and for our teachers,” Mr. Butcher told JIS News in an interview after his visit.

“The big takeaway for me is how authentic learning is. It’s not that a student cannot learn, students learn differently. And for me, it’s making sure that when a student leaves here (school), the student leaves with a particular skill set, especially with the certification that comes with it,” he said.

The Minister said he was very happy to visit the school and to interact with the Principal and teachers.

“Just from the tour you could gather the passion of the principal, the passion of the teachers, but also the diversity in what’s being offered – from agriculture to technical education to life skills, numeracy and literacy. That says to me that these children are receiving a very quality education, and that we must be very proud of,” he continued.

Mr. Butcher was also impressed with the fact that the special needs students at the school can leave with Caribbean Vocational Qualification (CVQ), which is a CARICOM-approved, competency-based certification representing essential skills in specific occupational fields. They are also placed in jobs for work experience.

He said special needs has become not only a serious talking point in St. Lucia but the Government is moving very quickly towards ensuring that the children in that country also get the good-quality education that they deserve.

“Just before I came here, in Parliament, a Resolution was passed to borrow US$17.1 million to ensure that we improve the quality of life and learning for our students, which will include the building of a new structure, the expansion of an existing structure [and] teacher training,” he said.

For her part, Principal, Windsor School of Special Education, Kimela Jarrett-Johnstone, said she was excited to show the progress of her students.

“It’s important for us to know that we have a programme which others can see and emulate. The discussion was not one-sided. I was able to hear from Minister Butcher some of what is taking place in St. Lucia. So, while he was getting ideas from us, I was also learning what is being offered in the field of special education there,” she said.

“At this institution, we offer primarily functional literacy and numeracy. We offer real life experiences, ICT training, integration within the community or how to navigate their community. Also, our students are exposed to building their skillsets, so that they can become contributing members of the society and also to develop a skillset where they can earn for themselves,” the Principal noted.

Minister Butcher also toured the vocational and skills training room at the school, the woodwork shop and vegetable garden. There are 128 special needs students enrolled at the school.