BEGINS
MINISTRY OF EDUCATION PARTNERS PROVIDE ACCESS TO ADDITIONAL LEARNING RESOURCES DURING THE COVID-19 LOCKDOWN
Since the commencement of mitigation efforts in the Turks and Caicos Islands to stem the spread of COVID-19, local, regional and international partners have reached out to the Ministry of Education to help to ensure that Sustainable Development Goal 4 of the United Nations' new SDG 2030 agenda is realized in spite of the global move to close schools and implement “stay-at-home” orders. SDG 4 aims to “ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.” Even though schools were closed two weeks ahead of the scheduled Easter vacation, the majority of students continued formal learning through online platforms and take-home learning packs.
On 1st April 2020, the Ministry announced the initiatives of Flow (TCI) and Digicel (TCI) Ltd which are designed to make e-learning platforms, digital learning materials, and instructional resources accessible to all students and teachers whether they are enrolled or working in public or private schools. In addition, the initiatives will enable more students to benefit from a high-quality educational experience in the e-learning environment at an affordable cost. 75 of our most vulnerable students will be given a Mi-Fi Internet device, free of cost, for the next three months.
Two publishing companies have reached out to us giving students access to e-books for the duration of the lockdown. Collins Education will make their CSEC and CAPE textbooks available to high school and Sixth Form students as of Friday, 3rd April, 2020.
Principals of schools offering the Caribbean Examinations Council exams who have expressed an interest in the opportunity will contact their students to provide access instructions. Collins Education has also provided free access to their materials and resources for primary school students and parents. The link to this information has already been shared with schools. Macmillan Education has also pledged their support to help mobilise additional resources such as supportive webinars, worksheets and printable sheets as practice material for students. They are also keen to provide online access for students and teachers who have connectivity and technology.
Our partners at Curriculum Associates reached out to us on Monday, 30th March and made the following statement, “Given the extraordinary situation unfolding across the country, we have extended i-Ready Instruction – our online lessons in Reading and Math – to over 1 Million students at NO CHARGE through June 30, 2020.”
Unlike typical implementations of i-Ready, which require students to take the i-Ready Diagnostic before beginning instruction, Curriculum Associates made it possible for teachers to assign i-Ready lessons to students WITHOUT an assessment.
Participating schools will need to meet a set of requisites designed to help Curriculum Associates reach as many students as possible in a timely manner. Detailed instructions about accessing the programme have already been shared with schools.
The i-Ready programme was implemented at the Oseta Jolly Primary School (OJPS) at the commencement of the 2019/20 school year. Curriculum Associates facilitated training for all of the members of the academic staff at the school. After they learned of the closure of school in the Turks and Caicos Islands, they facilitated a virtual i-Ready Math training for teachers at the OJPS. An Invitation was extended to other schools to participate in this session.
The Ministry of Education expresses gratitude to our many partners who are helping us remain on track to meet the target of the SDG 2030 agenda and the strategic imperatives of our Education Sector Plan 2018-2022.
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