McKinney ISD and Plano ISD teachers educating students in Jamaica

by Staff of McKinneyNews.net

Teachers from McKinney ISD and Plano ISD are joining forces to provide training, materials and teacher resources for 60 schools in western Jamaica involving elementary and secondary reading, math and special education. The organization, known as Teach with Jamaica, includes four McKinney ISD teachers and administrators and seven Plano ISD employees who are working together to help improve the quality of education for students in western Jamaica.

The McKinney ISD teachers and administrators include Wendy Cottam, Vega Elementary Assistant Principal, Tara Malphrus, Resource Teacher at Vega, Kim Summers, Instructional Specialist at Vega and Kendi Wassum, a fourth grade teacher at Vega. These four McKinney ISD educators will work with seven Plano ISD teachers including Karla Hughes, Tia Bonham, Kathy Chamberlin, Patti Gilbert and Kylie Robinson.

Hughes, the founder of Teach with Jamaica, began working with the Jamaica Link Ministries in the summer of 2005 as a missionary. Through her efforts, she was able to volunteer in schools and orphanages across western Jamaica. While visiting the schools, she saw a great need for supplies and additional training for the teachers. Upon her return, she visited the Fairhaven Mission Retreat Center and spoke with David Falkner, the President of Jamaica Link about what she had witnessed and her concerns regarding the educational situation in Jamaica. He proposed that she start an annual teaching conference to train Jamaican teachers in the areas of special education, reading/writing and math, and Teach with Jamaica was born.

Teach with Jamaica, established in 2006 as a small business, recently held its first annual Partnering for Success teaching conference. Representatives from the Jamaican government attended the conference and, after reviewing the lesson plans and curricula, requested a proposal to serve 120 schools.

Due to a lack of available funds with the start up program, the Teach with Jamaica organization could only accommodate 60 schools. The organization raised enough money to purchase teacher resource books, printed materials and educational supplies and thirteen teachers from the United States paid their own way to Montego Bay, Jamaica, to take the supplies to the schools.

The teachers and administrators involved in Teach with Jamaica plan to travel to western Jamaica July 5 through July 18. To complete their mission, the group is in need of donations, funding, shipping materials and air transportation to and from the area.

For more information about Teach with Jamaica, or to donate supplies or provide financial support, contact Karla Hughes at 940-453-9574 or by e-mail at karla.hughes@pisd.edu or contact Tara Malphrus at 214-236-3795 or by e-mail at tmalphurs@mckinneyisd.net. There is also a general e-mail for Teach with Jamaica at info@teachwithjamaica.org.