Huizen voor Sint Maarten

Exceptional School

Inclusive & Equitable Education

Project plan Refurbishment, equipment and training

Sister Marie Laurence Primary School

St. Maarten, Dutch West Indies

School proudly adopted by Rotary Club of Sint Maarten

Table of Contents

1. Editor’s Note 3

2. Executive Summary 5

3. The Organization & Key Personnel 6

4. Project Rationale

1.2 Problem Statement 7

1.3.6 School-wide Positive Behavior Support (PBS) 13

Note: in this summary only chapter 1 and 2 have been included.

For the full project plan please contact Gert-Jan van Dommelen, Rotary Huizen Gooimeer,
email: gjvandommelen@gmail.com

Editor’s Note: HURRICANE IRMA

Dear Reader,

This Project Plan depicts the school structure and school system of the Sister Marie Laurence Primary School up until September 5^th 2017, the day before Hurricane Irma wreaked havoc.

Hurricane Irma, which was an extremely powerful and catastrophic Cat 5 hurricane with sustained wind speeds of 185 mph, and gusts up to 225 mph, hit St. Maarten on 6 September 2017 with immense force. Hurricane Irma, which at some point was the strongest hurricane the National Hurricane Center had ever recorded in the Atlantic, caused severe damage and devastation to the infrastructure of the island.

As you will be reading in the next few chapters, a large part of the student body of the Sister Marie Laurence Primary School was already facing severe and diverse challenges before the devastation of Hurricane Irma; and the majority of these students are At-Risk Youth.

The events of September 6^th 2017 definitely had no positive influence on this situation.

The Sister Marie Laurence Primary School suffered extensive damage due the passing of Hurricane Irma, and consequently was entirely looted and completely vandalized, leaving behind literally just the shell of the school.

Now, more than ever, the focus must be placed on rebuilding the school, and, moreover, repairing and rebuilding the moral character of the school community. The impact of the hurricane and the subsequent looting and vandalizing has caused severe distress and emotional turmoil for the students, the staff and the community.

Executive Summary

St. Maarten has 18 elementary schools, with one being a formal Special Education school. This Special Education school – which caters to the low-IQ spectrum - represents 5% of the elementary school students.

The remaining 95% of the students represents a group of fortunate students living in comfort, surrounded by love and facing no significant challenges. However, it also represents a significant group of unfortunate students living in (extreme) poverty and living in unstable homes with much abuse and neglect. Additionally, it also represents those students with learning and/or functioning deficiencies such as dyslexia, dyscalculia, on the autism spectrum, or having ADHD etc. This latter at-risk group is expected to perform optimally in a regular school setting with limited to no specialized assistance and/or resources, with limited to no special facilities & equipment and with limited to no special programs in place. Clearly this is an expectation which is for both students and parents as well as for school staff a very unrealistic and unfair one. It is clear that there is a void in the educational system on St. Maarten.

The target group of this Project Plan is the Sister Marie Laurence Primary School, whose student population has diverse and unique needs that significantly affect their well-being and ability to function optimally at school. In school year 2016/2017, 40% of the student body received critical care from the Care Team, and another 17% received moderate care, and it is estimated that another 10% received external care. That means that a staggering two-thirds of the student body (67%) required academic, behavior and/or social emotional support last school year.

The goal of the Project Plan is transform the Sister Marie Laurence Primary School from a “regular” school into an Exceptional School. The students each possess their own uniqueness and talents, and they deserve the right to a structured, privileged, care-free environment where there is a positive attitude towards them and where – especially in the cases where poverty prevails - they have the same opportunities as their more affluent and challenge-free peers. All students at the Sister Marie Laurence Primary School have talents and dreams, but for many of these students their talents are deeply hidden and undeveloped and their dreams seem to be unattainable. The Exceptional School will be a child-centered school which will aim to provide inclusive and equitable education for all, by incorporating a Holistic Development Program which will comprehensively address all the needs of all the students – both academically as well as non-academically.

The following objectives need to be met:

The total cost for the realization of the Exceptional Education School is set at $xxx. Funding is being sought from local and international funding agencies and service clubs to assist with the execution of this ambitious Project Plan. The Rotary Club of Sint Maarten has proudly adopted the Sister Marie Laurence Primary School and will assist with seeking international funds to help make this important project a success. Seeing the budget needed for this project, any and all funds will be most welcome.

Thank you for your consideration of our request for funding, your assistance is deeply appreciated.

Sister Marie Laurence Primary School