South Florida’s Flanker School Alumni Association has made learning much more accessible for eight students, with a donation of Ja$600,000 in scholarships and bursaries.
The donation benefited students in grades four, five, and six at the Montego Bay infant and primary school. Each student received US$500.00 to help with school costs. Recipients were selected based on their academic performance, extracurricular activities, and behavior. The scholarships are renewable based on performance.
Principal of the school Mrs. Collette Barnes, said, “We are elated because these students are facing economic challenges to fund their education due to the pandemic and otherwise. The scholarships will go a far way in helping their parents take care of a good part of their academic needs.”
Mrs. Barnes said that since receiving the awards, many more students have inquired about the process for selection. “We believe in positive reinforcements, and based on the number of students asking about the criteria, I can say that this is working. It is motivating others to do as well, and this will ensure that we have more students performing better academically.”
Director for the Flanker School Alumni Association, Lance ‘Bugs’ Gibbs noted that the three-year-old organization started the initiative in 2020 with one scholarship and increased the support sevenfold within a single year. “The scholarships will allow students to be in school and allow them to concentrate without worrying about money,” he said.
“Supporting students to excel academically is the central pillar of the alumni association, and past students are committed to ensuring that scholarships and bursaries not only increase annually but also continue for a long time to come,” the alumni director promised.
Mrs. Barnes encouraged the parents at the presentation ceremony to continue the motivation for their children. “It doesn’t matter how small it is, buy them something as an incentive for their hard work,” she told them.
