SEPoS teacher emotional: No one fighting for students

STAKEHOLDERS at South East Port of Spain Government Secondary School will be sending letters to the Mayor of Port of Spain, the Education Ministry and the National Security Ministry on October 28 requesting that they urgently address safety concerns at the school.

This was the outcome of a meeting held by the Trinidad & Tobago Unified Teachers' Association (TUTTA), the Parent Teacher's Association (PTA), the school board and the alumni association on the school's compound on October 25.

The meeting followed a shooting near the school on Nelson Street on October 17 which left three people injured. It was not the first incident of gang violence near the school.

Newsday spoke to a teacher who got emotional as she said the students are battling to get their education. She cried as she spoke about her fears for the safety of her students.

"It breaks my heart to drive up here and see students walking up the street in the morning. There is no community in the east-west corridor that does not have a relative or a friend attending South East Secondary," she said,

"It is not logical what is happening, there is no explanation. Every community in Port of Spain attends this school, every street, every corner and there’s nobody aside from teachers to fight for these children. For these children going to school, now is like a battle."

Denise Brathwaite, president of the PTA and chairman of the local school board, spoke to media outside the compound before the meeting began.

Brathwaite said, "The purpose of the meeting today is not to disrupt teaching. It is to come to a long-term resolution. We understand that it will have short-term to mid-term then long-term solutions. But we are going to officially start the process to do what it takes to get the these measures implemented with a view of having total resolution to what is taking place in the community."

When asked about her thoughts about a possible relocation of the school, a proposal that some members of the community have rejected, she said, "Sometimes we have to look at the bigger picture. While schools do play an integral part in communities the bigger picture is that at South East Port of Spain we have a population of approximately 800 persons including teachers, staff and students, and the bigger picture is safety and security.

"The persons who were injured could have sought refuge on the school compound. What would have been the end result? We would have had another reason to be here today which is what we were trying to avoid by all means necessary. We cannot do it independently, we have to do it together, hence that meeting today."

She said the discussions have not reached the executive members of the school board but eventually will, as the PTA takes the meetings step by step.

"We are meeting with the principal and his team today and once that conversation is completed we are going to go to the next level. We are taking it step by step so we can get the end result we are looking for."

When asked about the mental state of staff and students, she said it remains unstable.

"We have children who come to school as early as 6 am, some have to walk from the upper and lower parts of Port of Spain and it remains a concern. But do we continue to ask children to stay home? No, we cannot do that because time lost in education cannot be regained.

"At no time is it our intention to disrupt the delivery of the curriculum because education is critical and we have to be mindful of that. Still, the psyche remains unstable and we have a lot of concerns from parents or teachers."

Media also spoke with Donna Dickson, the PTA secretary, who is a past student and has a child attending the school.

Dickson said, "My child is frustrated because she has her SBAs to get done and nothing can be done because of what is happening. I am very concerted about what is happening on Nelson Street. I feel for both the students and the teachers we have to be aware and concerned about what is going on and we are all here today to come to some sort of resolution as to what happens next for South East.

"The fear is real because something could really happen. Every day we are hoping and praying that it never occurs."

Kwame Cowie, president of the alumni association, said he was at the school just after the shooting took place.

"I was able to witness and experience some of the fear and anxiety amongst the staff and the students so we (the alumni association) stand in support of what needs to be done to make safety a priority for the students and the staff of the school."

Only 80 out of approximately 800 students were on the compound when Newsday visited. One parent, Diann Carr, who was invited to the meeting, said, "My son is in form two and this affects him a lot because he’s missing classes. The situation is very scary, teachers and students are afraid to come out and even if you’re here you’re not safe.

"At any time bullets can come and a child or somebody could get injured, God forbid it be fatal. So we are trying to get something put in place to protect the students and teachers so everybody will feel comfortable to come on South East compound.

"Without their education, students will fall. Society is already going bad and we are trying to save the ones that are coming up. It is important that we get some kind of security, some kind of police or ministry intervention, something to prevent the students and teachers from being hurt from what is happening in the community.”

Carr said she is still shaken by the incident and does not let her child travel to school.