St George’s Group & Minister On School Reform
The St. George’s Preparatory School PTA Working Group sent an open letter to Minister of Education Diallo Rabain calling for a “pause to any further primary school consolidation, including closures, until a reassessment of the criteria for Parish Schools is completed.”
A letter sent to the Minister said, “Dear Minister Rabain, J.P., M.P., The St. George’s Preparatory School PTA Working Group would like to reiterate and add our voices to the growing concerns from the community including the West End Warriors, about the primary school reform process which we feel has been illogical and deficient, and there must be a mutually agreed criteria and open process to move forward.
“We understand six persons including the Permanent Secretary of Education, the Commissioner of Education, Comptroller of Education, Education Facilities Manager, the Senior Estate Surveyor, Department of Parks, Lands and Buildings and a building manager of the Ministry of Public Works completed a tabletop exercise to make decisions that would transform the landscape of education in our island.
“These persons are not involved in the maintenance of St. George’s Preparatory School [SGPS] and never spoke with representatives from St. George’s Preparatory School for an understanding of the facility, the community involvement of our school, or any other of the “study factors” used.
“To make critical decisions about the future of our children, school assessments needed to be rigorous and fair, must fundamentally rely on the stakeholders’ input, and at a minimum required a site visit.
“Considering the above, we the St. George’s Preparatory School PTA Working Group are demanding the following:
“1. No Closure Without Funding And Infrastructure In Place – A pause to any further primary school consolidation, including closures, until a reassessment of the criteria for Parish Schools [“reassessment period”] is completed and the leaders of our schools, the legislature, and concerned stakeholders have had an opportunity to review and comment on a fully funded and outlined plan, and infrastructure is in place.
“2. P7 [and potential P8] – SGPS and other primary schools be granted permission to have a P7 for the school year [2024 – 2025] as Government is not providing satisfactory options for our children. If necessary, a P8 for the school year [2025 – 2026] and beyond until the MOED and the stakeholders have devised a fully actionable new plan.
Alternative Vision for the East End
“We agree that education reform including school closures, is a necessary endeavour. Re-assessing the selection criteria and process of the Parish Primary Strategic Location Team could bring about necessary buy-in that the reform currently lacks. We believe the criteria cannot just focus on the facility, but must also look at instructional quality, student outcomes, administration and other qualitative items.
“During this reassessment period, we would like to explore other options to ultimately deliver on the Government’s stated goal of reducing the number of schools due to low birth rates.
“Whatever these options look like they must be thought through in a thorough fashion, engaging in discussion with those stakeholders who have tangible knowledge and insight to offer on the ground [i.e. parents, teachers, facilities personnel].
“We have requested this pause and adequate consultation previously, but we have been ignored and therefore now we are directly and publicly calling for it again.
“This is not about just St. George’s Preparatory; this is about the future of the public school system for our island that allows every child the opportunity to succeed. That cannot be taken lightly, or the private sector is the only option that parents will see to achieve success.
“You have a duty in law as the Minister of Education to provide an education to all children on this Island.
“We do not believe the steps taken so far will provide that going forward.
“The uncertainty around our children’s future, the teachers, and other staff has been going on for too long. Therefore, we are seeking formal notice from you, Minister, in writing, that there will be a halt to further steps and closures by September 1, 2023, which we believe is a completely manageable timeline.
“As previously mentioned, to accommodate our September P6 students, we will be exploring options to add a P7 class in September 2024 at St. George’s Preparatory because we have to think about the wellbeing of our children and parents who face so much uncertainty as things stand today.
“The parents of St George’s Prep are committed and supportive of positive change for our schools and you can expect constructive dialogue with us when we are invited back to the table to discuss potential solutions. We will consider all options to ensure the reform process is in the best interest of our children.
“Yours Sincerely,
“St. George’s Preparatory School PTA Working Group”
Minister of Education Diallo Rabain
In a letter sent in response, Minister Rabain said, “Dear St. George’s Preparatory School PTA Working Group,
“I am writing to confirm receipt of your July 18, 2023 letter. Since engaging on the Education Reform journey in 2017, we have held hundreds of consultation, engagement, and socialisation meetings and received thousands of individual submissions from parents, educators, students and other community members. Most consultation submissions and the Ministry responses are published on our websites to support the transparency of our processes.
“I am encouraged that your PTA Working Group has reached out to offer to contribute to the ongoing process of Education Reform. I am pleased to confirm that several comments in your letter have been previously considered and are already part of the reform process and are positions with which we fully agree. However, other views would benefit from further dialogue to provide clarity and hopefully a shared understanding.
“I would like to meet with representatives of the PTA Working Group to discuss your letter and Education Reform in its totality. I am hopeful that we can hold a fruitful discussion after the Cup Match holiday, and I look forward to sitting with your representatives at that time.”
