While many teachers enjoyed their well-deserved summer vacations, a group of teachers from Lyford Cay International School (LCIS) worked to help improve the literacy and math skills of the students at the Willie Mae Pratt School for Girls and the Simpson Penn School for Boys.
The inaugural program provided support to 32 students over four weeks in July and focused on academics with the boys and personal development with the girls, according to Helene DeJong, co founder of Teachers United for Social Change (TUSC).
TUSC was founded by a group of LCIS educators in February 2014 as a community outreach organization providing targeted educational intervention to underserved populations within The Bahamas. Over the summer, TUSC mobilized its volunteers and teachers to provide academic support, training, and mentorship, at the Penn-Pratt Enrichment Project (PPEP), which targets boys and girls housed at the Simpson Penn School for Boys and the Willie Mae Pratt School for Girls.
Recent data provided by the Simpson Penn and Willie Mae Pratt Schools revealed that more than 50 percent of the students were currently reading significantly below grade level, and two out of the current students were non-readers.
The teachers measured the students' level of achievement before and after the program and said they noticed significant improvement by the students at the end of the four weeks.
The lead teachers for the project were Isadora Blyden, the head of school for elementary and student support at LCIS, an educator for more than 24 years; Daenette Gardiner, the learning enhancement teacher at LCIS, an educator for 18 years; Katina Seymour a fourth grade teacher, an educator for seven years, and Helene DeJong, the librarian and community service coordinator at LCIS, an educator for 17 years.
The initial four founding LCIS teachers were joined by six of their colleagues from LCIS as well as two teachers from other organizations.
"Every responsible person wants to make a positive impact on their community," said Gardiner. "And the great thing about this group of teachers is that we all shared the load. No one felt alone or overtaxed. It made all the difference in the world to work as a team and we still got to enjoy our summer vacation."
According to the founding members, TUSC will need more teacher volunteers next summer as they plan to repeat the PPEP program as well as add others. "For me it was exciting professionally to work with my colleagues in a different context and on a totally different level. It was very rewarding," said DeJong.
"I am hopeful and confident that the time spent with the young ladies at the school will not be soon forgotten. The encouraging, respectful and practical lessons and discussions we had are bound to create a positive change. I am optimistic about their future," said Seymour.
The TUSC also conducted a book drive to establish reading libraries in both schools.
"We found that the children did have access to books but that they were mostly outdated resource materials," said DeJong. "Through our book drive we were able to provide them with more exciting books to read -- books they were interested in reading. It was like giving them gold. They could not get enough."
TUSC has also pledged to provide training for Penn-Pratt teachers at the start of the new school year and giving them practical guidance on how to succeed. Gardner said they would like to make monthly visits and bring in guest speakers to expose students to the different professions that are available. To learn more about TUSC, contact Daenette Gardiner at dgardiner@lcis.bs.

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