Grade two-bound students in 28 primary schools across the island will receive support this summer from Digicel Foundation and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) under their Literacy Enrichment Project.

Between July 4 and August 12, each of the selected schools will cater to students matriculating to Grade 2 in the coming academic year through targeted literacy intervention featuring the use of computer games, smart boards and interactive exercises. The programme also includes nutritional support, providing students with breakfast and lunch daily.

“Students will end the summer better prepared to enter and excel in Grade 2,” the groups said.

They explained that parents have been incorporated as active participants in the activities in a variety of ways, such as identifying take-home assignments, and participating in the teaching and learning on special days.

At the opening of the summer programme at St Andrew Primary School earlier this month, one parent, Vennecha Smith explained why she was grateful for the summer intervention.

“My son needs the extra push this summer. I have to make sure that the summer is not wasted and that he can get as much practice to refresh his lessons. That’s why I made sure to take him here,” she said.

“He loves that [computer] more than the TV. I made sure to buy some learning CDs so I can even use them at home to keep up with what he learns at school,” Smith continued.

The summer programme is funded as part of the Digicel Foundation/USAID Parent Place Initiative which engages parents from 104 primary schools to encourage greater participation in school life as a means of improving their children’s academic performance.

“The aim is to keep students excited and attentive this summer and technology is one way to do that. We have been working with teachers on how to seamlessly integrate these tools into their lesson plans so it can translate into the summer school programme. We are excited to see how the students will respond to it,” Capacity Development and Training Manager at Digicel Foundation Evadne Cowell shared.

The Literacy Enrichment Project is a 3-year partnership with Digicel Foundation, USAID and the Ministry of Education to use ICT as an intervention tool to improve the literacy skills of children performing below the required aptitude levels prior to the National Grade Four Literacy Examination.

Since 2013, over 40,000 children have benefitted from the project, with over 250 teachers trained.