SEVENTEEN primary schools, most of them in deep rural Jamaica, were recently lauded for improving the quality of the education they deliver to students through innovative leadership, careful planning, and the use of technology.

The schools – once numbered among the lowest-performing in Jamaica – are now performing above the national average, thanks to their successful participation in the Expanding Education Horizons (EEH) project. The project is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The 17 schools were the only ones out of 71 to successfully graduate from the EEH, which is the follow-up to an earlier project started in 1998.

But while the schools benefited from computers, projectors and training in management and leadership, stakeholders said the employment of simple strategies by principals can make a significant difference on how children learn.

Strategies such as introducing single-sex classes, rearranging classroom seating, emphasising sports and culture, and active parent-teacher associations have been known to boost morale in low-performing schools.

“As the saying goes ‘every child can learn’, but it’s all about how we teach them,” principal of graduating school Prospect Primary in St Thomas, Nesline Lawrence told the Sunday Observer.

In 2006, seven Prospect Primary School students who did the Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT) passed for traditional high schools, instead of the usual one or two, as was the case up to 2004 when Lawrence became principal. But making the transition was not easy.

“After a few workshops with the teachers, I realised there was a little complacency at my school. The teachers just felt they couldn’t do anything more,” she Lawrence.

The boys, who outnumber girls at the school, were performing below the female counterparts.

“I don’t know why, but the boys have a fear of reading, and we have to be doing everything to show why it is important for them to read. We started to use sports to teach them. Everything was centred around football for a particular class,” the principal said. “We gave the boys little presents to show how special they are, and to build their confidence. We focused on boys to the point that the girls got jealous.”

The input of two US Peace Corps volunteers who taught reading also made an impact.

“The parents are coming to us and saying they see their children taking up the books and reading. And they are succeeding in sports as well, reaching finals where before they couldn’t even pass the first round,” Lawrence said.

Anchovy Primary introduced a day when students “run things” as a way to improve their self-esteem.

“On the Friday of education week (in March) each year, the students take over the school. For that day one is named the principal, others are teachers, guidance counsellors, secretaries and so on,” said principal Gerald Lawrence.

So seriously is this exercise taken that students have to write ‘letters of application’ and undergo ‘interviews’ to state why they should be given the various positions.

“This is done to improve their responsibility and to develop their leadership qualities,” said the school master.

He added that he also encourages community participation in the school by allowing devotion to be conducted by school vendors, and has even invited a Rastafarian to share ideas about his religion with students.

Gender specialist on the EEH project, Grace Christie, stressed the importance of leadership to turning around the performance of schools.

“Leadership is important because the principal has to be the driving force in getting the stakeholders to perform and this is not always easy. You find that if you don’t have a very forceful principal the school does not do well,” she said.