With the start of the new academic school year and reopening of classroom doors at the many institutions around the country, one school tolled its bell for the very first time this month. More than three dozen students were welcomed to an institution that promises to be inclusive and creative, serving as a nurturing community for its pupils and allowing them to explore their unique voices, traits and talents while offering a challenging and project-based curriculum.
While Monday's first day of school was exciting and "absolutely fantastic" for The Providence School's head of school, Shacantila Hall-Briggs, Tuesday's second day possibly trumped her first day feelings. With the second day came the realization that the students had completed their first day and returned to the campus just as excited or even more excited, in some cases, than day one.
"The fact that they were all geared up to go for the new school year made me feel very proud," said Hall-Briggs, admitting that that awareness had brought tears to her eyes.
The Providence School's register started out on Monday with 43 students from K2 through grade four. On Tuesday morning, the school had registered another three students, with an additional two sets of parents calling to stop by later in the day. By the end of this first week, Hall-Briggs believes school enrollment will be 50-strong, which she described as a good start.
While she admits that she has had some parents who have expressed interest in The Providence School's program, who have said they want to see where the school is at after its first year, Hall-Briggs said the draw to the institution for parents has been the fact that people are looking for "more" for their children; this, she believes, The Providence School promises to offer.
"I'm cemented in the thought that people are looking for more, and more of what they think will benefit their child. And I think they want to move away from just the chalkboard mentality and that everything has to be done in a black and white book," said Hall-Briggs. "People are moving towards their children being very engaged, and working along with the process -- with the teacher not just being the instructor, but their children's guide who listens to and opens themselves to what the children want and need also," she said.
"We have had many persons who have said to us 'We will see how you deliver on year one, and then we will partner with you afterwards.' And I think they mean that. Bahamians are very trusting people, but when it comes to their children, they can be very meticulous in where they go and who they allow to rear their children. So I do appreciate the families that have partnered with us in our inaugural year. God has been kind like that," she said.
The head of school said she does not take lightly the trust that parents have given to her school.
Intimate class sizes are also important at The Providence School; there is a maximum of 12 students per class. Preschool classes also have co-teachers to ensure students receive personalized service, which Hall-Briggs said is a draw for parents.
The school's curricula is project and experiential-based and includes technology, which Hall-Briggs said parents want for their children.
The Providence School has tapped into a number of different curricula for its program. Teachers use GO Math!, which offers an engaging and interactive approach to covering the common core standards, and supplement it with Singapore Math, which refers to teaching methods which focus on children both learning and mastering a limited number of concepts each school year; the goal of this combined use is for learners to perform well based on a deeper level of understanding, not just test preparation.
The school will use Write Source for its language program. The program prepares students to master the writing process, key writing, grammar, usage and mechanics, and is supplemented with technology.
"Most of our core subjects have a technological component to it, so apart from using their books, we have eReaders with all of the core subjects and programs to go along with it. We went to National Geographic for science, because I think they're the authority and that it is very tech based. I went into a science class [Tuesday] morning, and the students could not believe their book was coming alive, so that has been a good thing to watch," she said.
The Providence School will use the Ministry of Education's curriculum for social studies, but the school's administration has peppered it with civics and history, including world history, for the upper school, to ensure that teachers are producing global-minded students.
"We've tapped into many of the different curricula to make sure that we integrate it, but more importantly that the students are well balanced," said Hall-Briggs.
In her address to teachers before The Providence School's doors officially opened, she encouraged staff members to deliver on their promises.
"We really do want our children to be better academically, and be more rounded in terms of their view of our local village and globally," she said.
"We [staff] have been in training for many months now. We went outside of even the traditional orientation period, and I was very excited to see that our teachers were geared up and ready to go on Monday. And Tuesday it went off like clockwork again -- everyone was ready for their schedules to kick in - and they did beautifully - and I was pleased with that," she said.
Besides watching the children parade into the new school for the new school year, Hall-Briggs said she was just as exited to see how eager the parents were to begin the journey with The Providence School. She said, throughout the process, many of them partnered with the school's administration to make the process better and lent themselves to the school.
The dream of owning her own institution has finally come to fruition, but more than having a school, Hall-Briggs said she wants to produce well-rounded children.
In an effort to make a Providence School education more accessible to those students whose parents might not be able to do it financially, the school has established a philanthropic arm -- The Providence Hall Foundation to assist deserving families with merit as well as need-based scholarships. The foundation will be chaired by Hall-Briggs' parents, Simeon and Linda Hall. The foundation will seek sponsors to partner with.
Providence School hours are 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. The school is located at the Tonique Williams-Darling Highway, behind Burger King. Hall-Briggs hopes to add a fifth grade next year, with a sixth grade in the following year.

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