New agreements on good education on St. Eustatius
Teachers on St. Eustatius will receive support from special coaches in order to better adapt their lessons to the needs of individual students and, for example, to deal with differences and multilingualism in the classroom. 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 Minister Paul (Primary and Secondary Education) made with school boards, the Public Entity and educational care organization ECE of St. Eustatius in the Third Education Agenda. These agreements must contribute to the further improvement of primary and secondary education on the island. The agenda was signed during the Minister's visit to the Caribbean Netherlands.
Tailor-made agreements
Minister Paul:
"The professionals in and around the schools on St. Eustatius work very hard every day to provide good education for all students. With these important agreements we can lift education together to a higher level. We do this with an eye for the specific challenges and needs on the island. This way, the children on St. Eustatius get the chance to get the best out of themselves."
Delegate Reuben Merkman:
"With this agenda, we are investing together in the future and dreams of our children and thus in the future of St Eustatius. Good education is the key to success."
School board member Ingrid Whitfield:
"Since 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. With this, they can go to study in European Netherlands and expand their world. The Third Education Agenda helps make this possible."
Also 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 Caribbean Netherlands as the European Netherlands.
In the agenda it was also agreed to explore what pupils from St. Eustatius specifically need in order to be able to do a continuation education in the Netherlands without barriers. The specialized facilities for pupils who need support and care in addition to education will also be evaluated so that it becomes clearer which activities are really bearing 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 make an inventory with school boards of what in-service training is needed and how it can be arranged for teachers.
Visit Caribbean Netherlands
Minister Paul is in the Caribbean Netherlands until the 2nd of February, and in addition to St. Eustatius, she will also visit Saba and Bonaire. There she will visit various schools, educational care organizations and a youth center. On Saba she signed a new education housing covenant with which the Ministry of OCW and Public Entity agree to work together on good school buildings, a prerequisite for good education.