Anchovy High to discontinue shift system

Barrington Flemming, Gleaner Writer

WESTERN BUREAU:Anchovy High School in St James could be the first secondary school in the parish to do away with the double shift system in the new school year in September.

The school, which has a current population of 2,100 students, has been operating on a shift system for the past 39 years.

Chairman of the Anchovy High School board, Calvin G. Brown, told Western Focus that the former Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) Camp at Montpelier in St James, which was built to be an agricultural school by the Cuban government in the 1970s, will be transferred to the Ministry of Education, and by extension, Anchovy High School. The JDF site has been used as a refugee camp in the past for Haitians who landed illegally in Jamaica.

"We approached the minister of national security (Peter Bunting) and shared with him our vision, and he was happy to have the property transferred to the education ministry. A subsequent consultation with Education Minister Ronald Thwaites was also fruitful as he agreed to have the property used as a campus for the school," Brown explained.

Brown said the plan for the site includes erecting new classrooms and laboratories as they prepare to meet the new school year in September. He said the move would require major financial support, so partnerships with private-sector entities to implement the multi-million-dollar project would be sought.

VISION FOR UPGRADES

"The vision is that we want to upgrade the facility, construct additional classrooms and laboratories, and establish a second campus at Montpelier, which will house the grades seven to nine cohort while the present campus will house the upper school. So we would like private-sector partnerships as every child that is helped through this process means one less criminal on the street holding people up with guns," Brown said.

The school's principal, Lambert Russell, said while the shift system was introduced as a response to a space problem, it has, over the years, robbed students of contact time with teachers and left little time to deal with social issues within the school environment.

"We are working hard to make this a reality as longer contact hours are a critical component in the teacher-student learning process. As we seek to deal effectively with the subjects, the teaching-learning process would be enhanced, and I believe over time, that we should be seeing improved academic outcomes. It would also provide more opportunities to deal with social and behavioural problems as they arise," he said.

He also said extra-curricular activities would be increased and the additional time would allow for greater participation in sports.

Russell said the school anticipates continued growth when the new campus is established as more time and space would create a more conducive learning environment.