With campuses at Lyssons and Pear Tree River, the Ena Barclay Academy of Excellence is revolutionising special needs education in St. Thomas.

The first and only secondary-level special needs school in the parish, catering to students diagnosed with intellectual disabilities, the institution is built on a foundation of care and compassion, and the unshakeable belief that every child can thrive.

The focus is not on textbooks and timetables, but personalised approaches to break down barriers and equip students to become productive members of society.

There, they are exposed to a range of skills from farming and home economics to carpentry, music and visual arts.

Founded in 2017 as the Lyssons Centre of Excellence, the institution has grown steadily, with an enrollment of 75 students across its two campuses.

“When we began in 2017, we were just one campus. We had up to 52 students at the (Lyssons) campus. During the pandemic, we blossomed, we grew,” acting principal Jacqueline Hendricks-White tells JIS News.

That growth created an urgent need for additional space. The Ministry of Education partnered with Digicel Foundation to renovate and transform the Pear Tree River Primary School into a second campus.

Not only is the academy the only secondary-level special needs institution in St. Thomas but it is also the first of its kind in region two, which also entails the parishes of Portland and St. Mary.

“So yes, we are the pioneers, we are the champions,” boasts the acting principal, who has served as chairman of the Jamaica Teachers Association’s (JTA) special education committee on multiple occasions.

The school accommodates students ages 12 to 20, many of whom perform three or more grade levels below their chronological age. But rather than dwelling on deficits, the institution focuses on strengths.

“We believe in adding value to the lives of the students placed in our care. Hence, we offer them skills. These students must leave here with a skill. They must be able to generate some form of income to support self, family, and by extension, contribute to nation building,” Hendricks-White tells JIS News.

In addition to skills training, the students are also taught communication, numeracy, and civics.

“We build self-esteem. We teach civics. We bring back that pride of self and pride of nation to the students,” Hendricks-White says.

The acting principal is grateful for the roster of teachers and support staff including caregivers, cooks, cleaners, gardeners and watchmen, for their patience and dedication.

“The fruit of the Spirit is very evident in this school. Teaching is a calling. We’re answering to our calling. Teaching is not about book and the pencil. You have to take it from a holistic approach,” she points out.

For her, the mission is deeply personal.

“I am not just a principal or a teacher. I am also the mother of a 23-year-old young man who has been diagnosed with multiple intellectual disabilities and autism,” she reveals.

Her lived experience, including the financial strain of medical costs and social stigma, has shaped her leadership, which is focused on resilience, care, empathy, and support.

“I know what the parents are going through. I have walked their journey and so I try to bridge that gap,” the acting principal says.

The students mostly hail from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, and understanding the financial limitations, the school ensures students are fed and supported. An impressive feature of the Ena Barclay Academy of Excellence is the clean, well-maintained campuses with colourful, neat classrooms.

“You want to give them (the students) a welcoming experience when they come to school. You want them to want to come to school,” she says, recounting the story of a student who once woke up on a Sunday morning, dressed and ready, waiting for the school bus.

The students enter special sports competitions and have amassed trophies and medals through participation in Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC) and 4-H events.

They have represented St. Thomas at regional and national levels, earning a third- place finish in 4-H.

Field trips are frequent and intentional, from Emancipation Park and art galleries to airport tours and visits to the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) Air Wing. As a skills-based institution, the academy partners with bakeries and other businesses to provide real-world exposure.

Perhaps most groundbreaking is its school-to-work transition programme where students are given real-life work experience during the latter part of their school life. Parents are also encouraged to build relationships with host employers, increasing the likelihood of permanent placement.

Grade eight student, Andrae Melbourne, who recently took JIS News on a tour of the school’s plant nursery, says he “likes the school because I learn different things”.

The youngster, who is involved in various activities, and aspires to become a marine biologist, says that farming is a “valuable skill,” providing opportunity for entrepreneurship.

“If you want to start a business, you can learn what to do. We learn about mulching, animal production and mixed crops,” he points out.

Parent Shirley Duffus from Lower York commends the staff as caring and loving.

“When it comes to the children, they give them a lot of exposure. They take them out to different places,” she notes.

She is immensely grateful that the institution is not only close to home, but it also eliminates the high expense of travelling to Kingston.

Duffus says she has seen remarkable improvements in her child since attending the school.

“I remember she was supposed to do a project about cooking and she came home, went on the internet and she (found) what the teacher said. She was there in the kitchen trying. She was supposed to prepare the meal, take a photograph of it, and send it to her teacher for her homework. She was there trying to do it by herself without my supervision, based on what she learned at school,” the proud mother recalls.
Latoya Brown says her 15-year-old son is involved in a range of activities.

“He’s a part of the music band, 4-H, agriculture, and home economics,” she tells JIS News. “He wasn’t so advanced before. They are doing an awesome job there.”