Portland school in limbo

Windsor Forest, East Portland:

After successfully completing the rehabilitation of the Windsor Forest Basic School in east Portland, which fell into disrepair during the COVID-19 pandemic, the absence of a trained teacher could further disrupt normal operations at that institution going forward.

The school, which reopened its doors on September 8 following a near five-year closure, appears set to continue on its path of providing early childhood education to approximately 30 displaced students, whose parents were forced to make alternative arrangements regarding their education during the shutdown.

However, although the school finally reopened its doors last week, after undergoing extensive repairs through donations, collaboration with community residents and volunteers, a single requirement from the Early Childhood Commission (ECC) – having the service and presence of a trained teacher – has not been met.

With that in mind, members of the school board, community residents, and parents are now fearful that the school, which is now up and running, will once again be forced to close its doors due to its inability to meet the ECC’s single requirement.

“It was a long and tense period for us in the community, as our children had to be sent to school elsewhere following the reopening of schools in 2023, following the shutdown,” recounted Carlene ‘Peggy’ Campbell, chairperson of the school board.

“Well, 25 kids came out in full swing with the parents on September 8. They were very excited. You could see the excitement in their eyes, and they were embracing each other. They were just having a good time and happy to be back. They are seeing their friends in the space, and that is the way it should be in their community. The age of the kids ranges from two and half years to five and a half years, when they will transfer over to primary school.

“Before COVID, the school had a trained teacher that was placed there by the Ministry of Education, which, I think, it is the mandate by the educational system that these schools have a trained teacher. Sadly, that trained teacher passed away in 2020. When COVID came along, they (the Ministry of Education) had all schools closed.”

According to Campbell, the school never got the opportunity to get another trained teacher as, after COVID, the authorities deemed the school unsafe, being infested by termites, wasps, and rodents, which led to a second shutdown.

“And that was when I came in and pulled others along to take it to where it is right now,” she said.

“I have been working with the Early Childhood Commission, through the Ministry of Education and Youth, to get another trained teacher. This is the hardest part of the process. All we have there is one level-one teacher. The school may have to be locked down. The regional office at Passley Gardens is saying they cannot place a trained teacher; it has to come from the head in Kingston.

“And Kingston, currently, is not going to put a trained teacher there, because they have to look at funding, and all of that. They don’t care. They do not care.”

It is against that background that the school’s chairman, parents, and other residents are appealing to the Ministry of Education to look into the situation and to see how best assistance can be provided to the school, so as to ensure that a trained teacher is put in place. This would deter the looming shutdown of the school, and so prevent the displacement of the approximately 30 students.

Gareth Davis Sr