High schools go to shift system
One of the Ministry of Education’s goals is to get more young people into high school or vocational institutions. This will be accomplished partly by building more schools and Centers for Employment Training; another option is to make better use of existing facilities. Two Belize City high schools, which have always carried a heavy load under difficult circumstances, are now being asked to take on additional students. But surprisingly, rather than complain that they are already overloaded and underfunded, the schools are enthusiastically embracing a system that has worked well abroad but which is a first for Belize.
The principals and teachers of Edward P. Yorke and Gwen Lizarraga High Schools have not only been busy registering students for the new school year in September. The educators have been working on new schedules for the integrated shift system that will be implemented at both institutions. The new system was proposed by the Ministry of Education since many primary school graduates have not been able to get into a high school due to overcrowding and the lack of secondary institutions.
Alan Genitty, Principal, Edward P. Yoke High School
“I think there is a demand on society and government to do something to take care of the hundreds of students, perhaps thousands of students who over the past two, three decades have not been given the opportunity to be in a post primary institution.”
Enita Castillo, Teacher, Gwen Lizarraga High School
“The teachers at Gwen Liz are very excited about it and I think this comes from the attitude of the students that are finding out that they have an opportunity to enroll in a high school, a full fledged high school, not an evening school or anything like that. That is usually stigmatized. Like this morning most of them did not know it was going to be a full thing and when they came to register and when they were informed, you could see the expressions on their faces and this is the thing that moves us.”
The integrated shift system will have one set of students attending school from seven thirty in the morning to two in the afternoon. While the second set of students will be at school from two in the afternoon to six in the evening. The system will require parents to take a more active role in their children’s education.
Alan Genitty
“There might be a period of the day that the child is not in school and they will have to implement proper supervision of their child during that period of time to ensure that their children are doing some type of school work, they are studying, they are doing research, they are getting ready to come to school.”
Enita Castillo
“This an appeal to parents to be aware, to the general public because everybody has a role to play because we might see children around at odd hours. How do we deal with the children on
the streets? We need everybody’s participation.”
Although the system has been welcomed, Castillo says they will need some additional facilities and teachers.
Enita Castillo
“As you well know the facilities that we have were built in mind to accommodate one set of students and now what we will have to do is find more buildings. We will have to really work hard planing a timetable in a way that both sets of students will be able to use labs, workroom and stuff like that.
We have worked it out. We are in need of four full time teachers and two part-time teachers and actually I think that is pretty good. I thought that it would have been more than that but we only need six teachers to add to the present staff to accommodate everybody.”
Alan Genitty
“I know we have a responsibility to do the best that we can and as long as we bear in mind the importance of the program in creating access, and from my staff’s point of view, in maintaining quality at Edward P. Yorke High School, I believe that most of our members of staff will be in agreement in trying to do the best that we can.”
Parents and students are advised that the schools curricula and fees will remain the same. Those already enrolled will stay on the first shift, with all the new students going on the late shift.
If you would like more information on the new system you can contact the Ministry of Education, Edward P. Yorke High School or Gwen Lizarraga High School.
