KINGSTON, Jamaica – Planning and articulating achievement goals have become an integral part of the administration of academic teams at six high schools in rural Jamaica participating in a comprehensive school improvement programme in the Caribbean state.
The programme, aptly named the Centres of Excellence, seeks to boost the performance of underperforming secondary schools in the former British colony.
Dr. Renee Rattray, Programme Manager at the Mutual Building Societies Foundation (MBSF), which operates the programme, attests in a reflection that school principals have achieved much over the five-year period of the intervention programme, especially in terms of improving the systems of accountability within the schools.
Dr. Renee Rattray, Programme Manager at the Mutual Building Society Foundation
“We commend the management teams that have put systems in place, to maintain accountability and track and use data like business managers, to assess the value achieved,” Dr. Rattray said. “Consequently, they now accept that managing a school is a business; and, like any other business, they realise that to remain viable and competitive they must be productive and efficient.”
The six high schools participating in the programme are: McGrath High in the parish of St. Catherine, Mile Gully and Porus in Manchester; Seaforth in St. Thomas; Godfrey Stewart in Westmoreland and Green Pond in St. James, which accessed intensive leadership training from 2008, to transform their schools into centres of excellence.
“School principals are now looking more closely at critical administrative issues that have an impact on instruction and performance, which they would have previously overlooked; and, at the same time, they are no longer micro-managing,” the Progamme Manager noted, “In addition, their attitudes and that of their senior staff members have also improved, resulting in a keener understanding of what it takes to lead an efficient school.”
The five-year programme, which included extensive workshops, seminars and coaching sessions, also facilitated a working tour in the United Kingdom, where the Jamaican principals shadowed UK principals in leading educational institutions and engaged in research. The training was conducted in partnership with the University of Reading.
The comprehensive school intervention programme, under the auspices of the MBSF, was developed and implemented by the Jamaican-based financial organisations: the Jamaica National Building Society (JNBS) and The Victoria Mutual Building Society (VMBS), working in concert with the island’s Ministry of Education. Both organisations, JNBS and VMBS, operate branches subsidiaries across the UK.
“The results are that principals, vice-principals and senior leaders at the six rural high schools under the programme are now demonstrating tremendous improvement in their leadership styles,” Dr. Rattray stated in her review. However, she noted that, “Although some schools are more advanced than others, most of the principals have embraced their roles as ‘chief executive officers’; and are managing their resources efficiently.”
“The experience has been holistic, because it stresses both the operation of the school, as a business; and instructional leadership; as well as it has helped to develop our decision-making skills,” Lawrence Rowe, Principal of Mile Gully High in the parish of Manchester said. “And, therefore, you know when to act as a manager and when to act as an educator.”
He pointed out that understanding how to gather, retrieve and analyse data helped to transform Mile Gully High School. Citing specific examples, he stated for instance that through data he and his team have been able to carefully manage infractions.
“We were able to identify that most fights took place right after lunch; therefore, I changed my rounds to that time; and walked the corridors with the Dean of Discipline, to ensure students were in class,” he pointed out. “And, for classes which showed up in the data as the most challenging, we ensured that teachers were also assigned to these classes. As a result, there were fewer disruptions and fewer disruptions means more progressive learning time.”
He also acknowledges that his administrative skills have also improved significantly and that he takes a meticulous approach to the management of the schools’ fiannces.
Mr. Rowe, the former Vice Principal of the School, succeeded the previous Principal, Mr. Ulit Brackett, an ardent supporter of the Centres of Excellence programme, who retired last year.
During the five-year period, administrators, educators and guidance counsellors benefited from sessions with renowned educators, academics, administrators and business executives, including Radley Reid, former Principal of Campion College; well-known insurance executive, R. Danny Williams; former H&L Group, chief executive officer now Kingston College principal, Dave Myrie; and management consultant, Gillian Chambers.
“Coming out of those sessions the management teams show a fuller appreciation and understanding for certain legal and administrative processes and regulations, as governed by the Education Act; and an understanding of how to manage the school more efficiently, with the end result being to improve student performance and improve teacher productivity,” Dr. Rattray noted.
The other participating schools have also indicated progress in terms of—attendance, student, teacher and administrative performance, improved facilities, and refurbished labs; as well as, a general consciousness about administrative and academic management,” Dr. Rattray maintained, noting that the programme comes to an end in the six schools this year. She said the intention is to, “Leave a school improvement model in place, which can be replicated in schools with similar challenges.”
In the final analysis, the Programme Manager stated, “There is still much to be achieved; however, all six schools are now in a better position than they were in five years ago. And, the MBSF is confident that through improved leadership in all areas of these schools, the performances of these institutions will eventually be on par with the best performing schools in the country.”
Educators from six rural-based high schools in the Centres of Excellence programme pose for the camera at a function held at the High Commission of Jamaica in London during a two-week visit to the United Kingdom on a training programme in 2011. They are: Michael Stewart (left), Principal, Porus High School; Theobold Fearon (second left), Principal, Godfrey Stewart High School; Drusilla Marriott (fifth left), Acting Principal, Seaforth High School; Ulit Brackett, Principal, Mile Gully High School; Lorraine Cummings- Grant, Vice Principal, McGrath High School and Michael Ellis, Principal, Green Pond High School. The educators were all participants in the Champion Leadership Development Programme organised by the University of Reading and the Mutual Building Societies Foundation. Celebrating with the educators in the photograph are two past students of the Godfrey Stewart High School: Clinton Walker (second left) and Nickoli Ferrier (fourth left).
