Green Island, Hanover Parish, Jamaica: The town of Green Island has a primary school which was built in 1920. Present enrollment is approximately 300 girls and 300 boys, ages 6 to 12 years old. The staff consists of a Principal, a Vice Principal, a Guidance Counselor, a Spanish Teacher, 16 classroom teachers, and a part time Physical Education teacher. The school’s vision is: “To create meaningful and unified learning experiences in an environment which is conducive to academic and personal growth and development of staff, pupils, parents and all other stake holders.” And its mission is “to establish and maintain an effective Educational Program that will ensure the HOLISTIC development of each individual.”

Students at the Green Island Primary School in Hanover, Jamaica

While far less rural and impoverished than the Trelawny-Flagstaff Maroon Community, Green Island students struggle with a general lack of resources and absence of positive role models at home. Most of the students do not have two involved parents, as many fathers have multiple “baby mothers” and are not present at home. This puts the burden of supporting the families on the mothers, with a full day’s wages usually only $3,000-3,500 Jamaican dollars (approximately $21-25 US dollars) when they can get work locally. This in turn puts pressure on the children to find work early in life, and it distracts their focus from learning. Lack of literacy remains one of the most pervasive issues in Green Island and other rural Jamaican communities.