Lusignan Youth Development Initiative graduates commended

Twelve students who have shown significant improvement in their academic performance over the past year on Monday graduated from the 2016-2017 Lusignan Youth Development Initiative (LYDI) remedial programme.
The initiative is held under the auspices of the Office of the First Lady at the Lusignan Primary School, East Coast Demerara. The programme caters to slow achieving Grades Two to Five students of the Lusignan Primary School and, based on the graduates’ improved test scores, has now been expanded to include tuition for Grade Six students, which will start from this afternoon.

First Lady Sandra Granger (seated, second from right) is flanked by Lieutenant Colonel (ret’d) Yvonne Smith of the Office of the First Lady; Head Teacher at the Lusignan Primary School, Michelle Barton and Coordinator of the Lusignan Youth Development Initiative, Nicola Halloway. Teachers and students in the remedial programme are pictured standing

First Lady Sandra Granger commended the teachers and the students for the commitment and discipline they displayed during the programme. “I want to thank the teachers and staff, who took up the challenge… because this arose from a concern about the number of children who were struggling in school and we are happy to say that some of you have improved your performance and we look forward, over the years, for the children of Lusignan performing excellently when they get to the Grade Six exam,” Granger is quoted as saying by the Ministry of the Presidency.
The programme, which had also been implemented in the Buxton/Friendship areas, was started in Lusignan on October 3, 2016 with 80 students, who were considered under-achievers. Of that number, about 70 attend the thrice-weekly classes regularly. Improved test scores were most significant among those students, who demonstrated a high level of commitment and had the support of their patents. These include one student whose grade rose from 40 per cent to over 60 per cent during the year.
The First Lady encouraged the students and their peers to remain focused on their studies. “I think that the children of Lusignan have the talent to do very well in education and I’m sure that with the help that you are receiving from the teachers and Head Mistress and school, you will do very well as the years go by and as you graduate from one grade to the next,” she said.
Meanwhile, Coordinator of the LYDI, Nicola Halloway said the programme’s long-term goal was to raise numeracy and literacy rates to 90 per cent and to improve scores at the National Grades Four and Six Assessments.
The 12 students were each given gift vouchers, of varying sums, which can be redeemed for books and school supplies at Austin’s Book Services in Georgetown.
The First Lady’s remedial programme for primary school students complements the measures that the Government and the Education Ministry have embarked upon to improve the educational outcomes of the nation’s students.