hope valley experimental school kingston

Hope valley Experimental School

• Type: School
• Address: 2 University Road, Kingston 7 Jamaica
• Wheelchair access: yes

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Denham Town

• Category: education
• Location: August Town , Saint Andrew Parish , Jamaica , Caribbean , North America
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Landmarks in the Area

• Sir John Golding Rehabilitation Center Hospital, 220 metres north
• MONA Athletics track Athletics track, 330 metres south
• Saint Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church Church, 420 metres north
• UWI Honour Roll Monument Park, 420 metres west
• Amphitheatre Theatre building, 430 metres southwest

Places in the Area

• Playground School
• Randolph Lopez School of Hope School, 230 metres northeast
• University Hospital of West Indies Hospital building, 270 metres northeast
• Amsterdam Dormitory, 330 metres southwest
• Hope Institute Clinic, 340 metres northeast

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The Jamaica Star

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65,000 tablets set for distribution to teachers and students

The distribution of 65,000 tablet computers to teachers and students will be completed in this fiscal year, says Minister of Science, Energy and Technology, Fayval Williams.

This was noted by Mrs. Williams during the official ceremony for the distribution of 32 tablet computers to educators at the Hope Valley Experimental School, located at 2-4 University Road, Kingston 7, on Tuesday.

The initiative falls under the Government’s ‘Tablets in Schools Project’, which aims to provide students, teachers and other stakeholders with the necessary facilities to access technology.

Providing a breakdown of the initiative, Mrs. Williams informed that e-Learning Jamaica (e-Ljam) will complete the distribution of 25,000 tablets under the Tablets for Teachers Programme as well as 40,000 tablets under the Tablets in Infant and Primary Schools Programme, during this financial year.

“Today, we make the connections. Today we inch one step closer to imagining a new Jamaica,” she said.

The Minister explained that in this new Jamaica, her vision is that all Jamaicans will have access to the Internet and all schools will be equipped with the technologies to not just facilitate learning but to also foster innovation and a solid science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education for students.

“As we work to build a digital society, information and communications technology (ICT); science, technology and innovation will be crucial pillars in this regard. Our educators, therefore, are integral partners to this process."

"It is my hope that [these tablet computers] will make your classrooms a richer environment, which will cater to the needs of the 21st century learner,” she said.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Williams said the Ministry is committed to strengthening the technological capacity and infrastructure, so that all students can have access to the Internet and devices, and enhance learning at every level.

Currently, with an Internet penetration rate of approximately 45 per cent, so many of our students in rural Jamaica or inner cities lack access to the Internet and technological devices, which adversely affects their education, especially at a time when they have to log on to an online platform for classes,” she said.

The Minister said the rollout of the devices will assist in bridging the digital divide and create a digitally inclusive society where no one gets left behind.

“In the digital age, we cannot allow pandemics to disrupt the business of education. The future of our children is too important to not put mechanisms in place to facilitate remote learning,” she added.

Under the Tablets in School rollout progamme, focus will be placed on infant and primary schools, teachers’ colleges, special education schools and State care facilities.

The Tablets for Teachers Programme is part of an agreement between the Government and the Jamaica Teachers’ Association (JTA) to provide each teacher in public schools with a 10-inch tablet computer as part of their compensation package.

The devices will be for personal use as well as to assist the educators in conducting research and delivering content and lessons in a virtual environment, especially as the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has transformed teaching and learning.

The Tablets for Teachers programme involves collaboration among the Ministry of Science, Energy and Technology; Ministry of Finance and the Public Service; Ministry of Education, Youth and Information; e-LJam; and the JTA.

An agency of the Ministry of Science, Energy and Technology, e-LJam is tasked with providing expertise in the management and implementation of innovative technology projects that support the improvement of national learning outcomes while bolstering ICT solutions.

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Mission Jamaica (MJ) is a short-term “vacation with a purpose” mission experience that began at St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church in Mahtomedi, Minnesota. In 1989, Senior Pastor Roger Eigenfeld felt the call to develop an international mission program and through contacts in Jamaica found an opportunity. The first mission group went to Hope Valley Experimental School in Kingston, Jamaica with 19 missionaries.

Since that time, over 35 other Evangelical Lutheran Church in America congregations and several colleges from Minnesota as well as North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Georgia, North Carolina and Illinois have partnered with St. Andrew’s in this mission field. Participants continue to serve at Hope Valley and new sites have been developed and nurtured on the island. MJ also works with a program similar to Habitat for Humanity at various sites throughout Jamaica.

From humble beginnings of 19 missionaries from St Andrew’s the first year, some of whom are still serving, this ministry has grown to include several churches in several states all around the country. It has grown from one mission site at Hope Valley Experimental School in Kingston (where the “experiment” was to include children with special needs in the classroom with other children) to several mission sites in Kingston and the Montego Bay area.

Mission Jamaica provides a way for us to love and serve our neighbor as Jesus taught us through His love and service to others. The trip combines a service project with time for reflection and spiritual rest. It allows a person to experience an international mission field that is close to home yet far enough away to immerse into another culture for a week.

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Schools begin new chapter with hope

With high hopes for the year ahead, school administrators and students put the summer holidays behind them and returned to the classrooms on Monday, basking in the thrill of a fresh start.

The islandwide back-to-school excitement was noticeable, with fresh-faced students setting out in the Corporate Area to embrace their teachers’ new plans and recrafted visions, and commit to making the most of the months ahead.

Debbie Meek, principal of Elletson Primary and Infant School in Kingston, was particularly excited about three dash robots which were donated to the institution by the Canada-based Olga Ellen Coburn Foundation.

The small-bodied robots are equipped with unique and gravitating features such as shining lights and the ability to dance, sing and respond to voice commands, and are geared at breaking down coding and robotics in a simple way for children.

Meek is anticipating that the integration of the robots into lessons will help to improve numeracy at the school.

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She also expressed gratitude to Advantage General, which donated computer systems for them to get a lab up and running in a matter of weeks.

Reflecting on preparations made ahead of the new school year, Meeks said there was yard work to maintain the grounds, pest-control initiatives, and professional development workshops for teachers.

With some 145 students on roll, including those in the special education unit and the infant department, the principal told The Gleaner that gearing up for a new school year is never an easy task, as administrators are usually constrained by limited finances.

Once again, she noted, the school has reopened without a functioning library, a situation which has persisted for over a decade. She said that the situation has been very disadvantageous to the students, as they lack a suitable space where they could make use of resource material or sit and read quietly in their spare time.

“A school library is very critical ... . It is supposed to be a very interactive space for the children because you can also teach them how to care for the books and teach them how to do research, not solely online, but also from the physical space. A school library is like the brain of a school, because it is supposed to drive your literacy [rates],” Meek said.

‘Strive for Excellence’

She added that a large number of outdated books had to be removed from the space with the help of the Jamaica Library Service. The library is in need of new furniture; reading material, including resource books for mathematics, science, English language and social studies; reading books for the infant department; and an air conditioning unit.

Nonetheless, the principal remains hopeful for an excellent school year, as her aspirations are aligned with the school’s motto: ‘Strive for Excellence’.

On Monday, Education Minister Fayval Williams engaged in a tour of schools such as Mountain View Primary and Infant, Jacks Hill Primary, and Hope Valley Experimental School, to observe happenings on the first day of the school year. She also visited the Half-Way Tree Transport Centre to see students boarding some of the new electric buses added to the Jamaica Urban Transit Company’s fleet.

Principal of Hope Valley Experimental, Anthony Grant, informed The Gleaner that the school is among the fortunate few not affected by teacher migration and resignations.

“We have all teachers in place, so they are quite ready for the students’ enrolment ... ,” he said, adding that all of the roughly 700 students seemed to have turned out for the first day. Parents were also out in very large numbers to see their children off to school.

Grant said that there were no bothering issues as classes resumed.

On the matter of the draft grooming policy, he expressed his full support for it.

The policy, which covers the long-running conflicts regarding student grooming and attire in schools, attempts to lessen discriminatory practices in schools, related to, among other things, cultural identity, climatic conditions, and parents’ socio-economic status.

The principal recalled that, years ago when he advocated for students to bring their cell phones to school, he received some pushback from parents. But, he noted, in today’s society, electronics such as a tablets were being used by nearly every child.

“I say that to say, sometimes we make rules that come back to haunt us,” he said, adding that he has never had an issue with students expressing themselves through hairstyles.

“For me personally, I place emphasis on my appearance and how I look, and I think students [do] too. When they feel comfortable about themselves, they learn. So I’ve never had a problem with grooming, with hairstyle, or whatever. The kind of haircut, the kind of hair never bothered me at all,” he added.

He asserted that, by taking this stance, it was not an indication that the school was liberal, but that it was to ensure that both parents and children were comfortable.

“We have never locked out [a student], and I’m in strong support of it, that we are to stop that practice in 2023,” he added, noting that Jamaicans ought to be tolerant of differences in individuals.

Speaking at a press conference on Monday, Opposition Spokesman on Education Damion Crawford told The Gleaner that he believes that the ministry had approached the issue in an effective manner and has fostered much-needed dialogue surrounding the issue by including an analysis of the nation’s cultural realities and those of school administrators.

“My own image would immediately indicate that anything that reduces the line of resistance for persons wearing my image would be supported by me,” the dreadlocked senator said.

Williams expressed confidence that the school year ahead will be successful. She noted the high levels of anticipation from academic staff and students.

“We take education seriously, all of us in Jamaica. We know the value and importance of education and I know parents across the board ... look forward to the new school year, as well as the students,” she said.

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Tablets for Hope Valley Experimental School teachers

HOPE Valley Experime ntal School on Tuesday received 34 tablet computers under the Government’s ‘Tablets for Teachers’ programme, which aims at distributing 25,000 tablets to teachers islandwide before next month.

Science, Energy and Technology Minister Fayval Williams said the distribution of tablets at Hope Valley is important, as the school caters to the needs of disabled as well as able-bodied people.

“The work we are doing here goes to the heart of creating a digitally inclusive society where no one gets left behind,” the minister said.

“COVID-19 has taught us that we need to go digital, and all our teachers and students must be able to access lessons and material remotely,” Williams said, referring to the fact that virtual learning is still being practised as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

Noting that much work is still needed, Williams said there are big gaps to fill “but as a Government, we are committed to providing access to the Internet and technological tools which will enhance learning at every level”.

E-Learning Jamaica CEO Keith Smith said the company has taken the initiative to foster a better teaching and learning experience for teachers and students, due to the pandemic.

“Today is a very special day for e-Learning as it signifies the first official handover of tablets,” he said, adding that of the 25,000 tablets, 2,000 have already been distributed to schools in Portland and St Thomas.

Universal Service Fund CEO Daniel Dawes said the company continues to cover the cost of Internet access in secondary schools to ensure affordability and availability and to address the digital divide.

In addition to the tablets, Hope Valley was presented with a multifunctional Xerox printer by Andrew McHugh, account manager of Productive Business Solutions.

E-Learning Jamaica will present the next set of tablets to Balcombe Drive Primary and Junior High School on Thursday.

— Brittny Hutchinson

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• Kingston, Jamaica

Hope Valley Experimental Sch

Phone 7023212

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