Basseterre: St. Kitts, April 18, 2020: “Parents and guardians can rest assured that things are in place for children’s continued education from Monday, 20th April when they were initially scheduled to return to school”, says Dr. Debbie Isaac, Chief Education Officer.
Many concerned parents and guardians have been in touch with school officials and have also been browsing the internet in recent times, seeking to ensure that there are adequate learning resources for their children’s virtual school experience. Such actions have resulted from the extended closure of school in national response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Principal Education Officer at the Ministry of Education on Nevis, Ms Zahnela Claxton who is in full agreement with the Chief Education Officer, stated that she is equally pleased with the level of support coming from various Ministry departments to assist parents in this regard. She indicated that the Education Planning Division (EPD) including the Curriculum Development Unit (CDU) and the Education Management Information System (EMIS) worked tirelessly to prepare necessary materials which are now uploaded to the Ministry’s website. The Early Childhood Development unit was also instrumental in preparing activities for pre-school aged children.
Dr. Isaac and Ms. Claxton have concurred that the focus of the work over the past three weeks has been challenging and unprecedented. But their collaborative effort with input from different departments has made the work invaluable and comprehensive.
Two sites were identified as main sources of Information and interface: www.education.gov.kn and www.flowstudy.co. Education Planner in the Education Planning Division, Mr. Quinton Morton said that the Ministry of Education’s website is easy to navigate, and has, in simple steps, outlined how to access Flow Study and other activities for students.
For example, the website www.education.gov.kn provides the following steps to navigate Flow Study:
1. Click on this link to go to the website: www.flowstudy.co
or click here to download and install the app:
2. Select your country (St. Kitts Nevis)
3. ‘Sign in’ using the username and password provided by your school
4. Select the level of education (Primary or Secondary) and the subject area to get activities
Activities have also been uploaded to the Ministry’s website (www.education.gov.kn) for students at all levels. Once on the website, parents can click on the link for the relevant level:
Primary: Primary Education activities
Secondary: Secondary Education Activities
For Early Childhood, the following links to websites are provided specifically for education support for these children: www.funbrain.com, www.pbs.org, www.starfall.com, www.storylineonline.com, www.highlightskids.com.
The Chief Education Officer and the Principal Education Officer shared that starting Tuesday, 21st April, 2020 training of teachers will commence in the virtual classroom platform.
The education officials underscored the need for parents and guardians and their children to continually check the Ministry’s website for updated information. Dr. Isaac noted that in St. Kitts, the Ministry’s Facebook page: SKN Education Media Unit is an alternative source for updated information regarding education. Ms. Claxton added that in Nevis, individuals can also be checked for updates on the Ministry of Education Nevis Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/MOENevis/
In a message to the nation on Thursday, 16th April, 2020, Minister of Education, Hon. Shawn Richards stated that while it was not an easy decision to extend the closure of school, it is in the best interest of all staff and students in the Education sector that they stay home and stay safe and healthy. He reiterated that this decision was taken acting on the advice received from the local health officials and the COVID-19 Task Force.