News item | 01-30-2024 | 18:46
In order to better tailor their lessons to what individual students need and, for example, to deal well with differences and multilingualism in the classroom, teachers on St. Eustatius receive support from special coaches. In addition, students who need a helping hand to do well at school will also receive extra help in the coming years. These are some of the agreements that Minister Paul (Primary and Secondary Education) has made with school boards, the Public Entity and educational care organization ECE of St. Eustatius in the Third Education Agenda. These agreements should contribute to further improving primary and secondary education on the island. The agenda was signed during the minister’s visit to the Caribbean Netherlands.
Customized appointments
Minister Paul: “The professionals in and around the schools on St. Eustatius work hard every day to ensure good education for all students. With these important agreements, we can take education to a higher level together. We do this with an eye for the specific challenges and needs on the island. This gives the children on St. Eustatius the opportunity to get the best out of themselves.”
Councilor Reuben Merkman: “With this agenda we invest together in the future and dreams of our children, and therefore in the future of St. Eustatius. Good education is the key to success.”
School director Ingrid Whitfield: “Because most children on St. Eustatius do not speak Dutch at home, it is important that they learn it well at school as a second language. So that they master it as well as English. This allows them to study in the European Netherlands and their expand the world. The Third Education Agenda helps make this possible.”
Further in the agenda
School leaders and school administrators also receive support from coaches in their work. In this way, everyone in the school can contribute to strengthening the quality of education and new knowledge and experience is retained in the school. Each school can choose which coach best suits its own specific challenges. The coaches come from both the Caribbean Netherlands and the European Netherlands.
The agenda also included an agreement to explore what students from St. Eustatius actually need to start further education in the Netherlands without any barriers. The specialist facilities for students who need extra support and care in addition to education are also being evaluated so that it becomes clearer which activities really bear fruit in practice and can therefore be further expanded.
Bonaire and Saba
The Education Agendas for Bonaire and Saba were signed before the summer of 2023. Coaching is also available for these islands. In addition, the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (OCW) will work with school boards to identify what further training is needed and how this can be arranged for teachers.
Visit the Caribbean Netherlands
Minister Paul will be in the Caribbean Netherlands until February 2 and will visit Saba and Bonaire in addition to St. Eustatius. There she visits various schools, educational care organizations and a youth center. On Saba she signed a new educational housing covenant with which the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science and the Public Entity agree to work together on good school buildings, a prerequisite for good education.