New Preschool Named for Dangriga Educator
Dangriga has a brand new preschool. It is one of eighteen new early childhood centers built under the Belize Education Sector Reform Programme Two and funded by the Caribbean Development Bank. Here’s more from the dedication ceremony.
Andrea Polanco, Reporting
Alexia M. Nolberto Government Preschool is the newest pre-primary school in Dangriga. Minister of State in the Ministry of Education Doctor Louis Zabaneh says it will have ample space and meets international standards.
Louis Zabaneh
Dr. Louis Zabaneh, Minister of State, Ministry of Education
“There are two classrooms, this one and the one next door. It will have the capacity of eighty students’ total, forty for level one and forty for level two. You will see it has four bathrooms for children, quite cute bathrooms, when you go in there you will see what I mean. And then there are two bathrooms for teachers. This facility here meets international regulations for preschools; as you will see it is fully fenced. Inside we have a spacing of twenty-five square feet per child. You have hand washing facilities, some up here and around the school. There are stove, microwave and refrigerator; as well as eye-washing stations. It is wheel-chair friendly and so it is easy access for those with wheelchair. It is fitted with a pressurized water system and the school can withstand a category three hurricane.”
For the last thirty years, students had attended the Benguche Government Preschool, but that building became unfit. So, in 2019, they broke ground to create this safe child-friendly environment under a new name. Teacher Loretta Montero says this school will continue to provide quality early childhood education.
Loretta Montero
Loretta Montero, Teacher, Alexia M. Nolberto Preschool
“Our preschool is an ideal location because it can serve the children in the Wagierale and Benguche areas and any other area as long as the parent can mobilize their child to attend our preschool. I can also boast that we offer a holistic education program that caters to the social and cognitive needs of the students we serve. In addition, our institution is affordable and we promote a child friendly environment. We have an open door policy where we can welcome our parents to visit our school at any time to check up on your child. Students who graduate from our school are prepared to venture off to the primary school level.”
The school has been named in honor of career educator Alexia Nolberto. She is hailed as having started pre-school education in her hometown of Dangriga where spent forty-two years in the classroom, thirty two years at the pre-school level and ten years in primary school.
Alexia Nolberto
Alexia Nolberto, Career Educator
“I am honored for having this school named Alexia Nolberto Government Pre-School. I have to thank all those who participated in having this to become a reality. Our children are those people, those children who will be the future of Belize. These children will be our Prime Minister later on, our doctors, lawyers, teachers, coast guards, policemen, pastors, and all the different vocations that we have. So, we are thankful for these children and so teachers I ask you to be steadfast and very dedicated to this profession because this profession is not easy.”
Minister of State in the Ministry of Education Doctor Louis Zabaneh says this school is part of Government’s commitment to early childhood education.
Dr. Louis Zabaneh
“Today’s dedication of this new facility is a milestone for Dangriga and is in fact a continuation of a very important initiative that the Government of Belize is undertaking. The Minister of Education, Minister Fonseca sends his regards and you may have heard that early childhood has been one of his passions. I also want to thank the former recent Minister of Education Honorable Faber who also carried on with that important work. This stage that they are in, research has shown, is a very valuable stage for children’s development. So, this investment should have a very big impact on the performance of our students throughout primary school and high-school and later on as citizens in our country.”
Reporting for News Five, I’m Andrea Polanco.
The C.D.B. loan of forty-four point six million dollars is for the construction of eighteen primary schools and the refurbishing of seventeen other educational institutions across Belize.
