Caribbean News

Grade-Nine students create history at Mico Practising

Published

8 years ago

September 9, 2017

#Jamaica, September 9, 2017 – Kingston – After successfully conducting an experiment with an all-male grade-six class in 2016, which resulted in an improved performance in the Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT), Mico Practising Primary & Junior High began another experiment earlier this year with grade-nine students, and the school’s administration is pleased with the outcome.

For the 2016/2017 academic year, the institution registered 13 students for the first time in the school’s history to sit the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) subject, Electronic Document Preparation and Management (EDPM), of which 11 passed – one with a grade two and the others at grade three. The CSEC examinations are usually taken after five years of secondary school by students who are 16 years and older.

The students who created history at Mico Practising by passing EPDM are all under the age of 16 years. They are Shenelle Samuels, Grizell Scarlett, Shamari Smith, Taciann Smith, Nasatia West, Jeneale Rose, Ashanty McDermott, Kelvin Paisley, Keanu Jones, Tyecia Lawrence and Ishama Pounall. They all received a grade three pass, except Ishama who got a grade two.

They were also part of a group of 100 students from Mico Practising, who sat the Grade Nine Assessment Test (GNAT) in the last academic year, and who all passed the examination and were placed in other high schools.

Shenelle, Grizell, Tyecia and Ishama were placed at Merl Grove High School; Shamari and Nasatia, St. Andrew Technical High; Taciann and Ashanty, Kingston Technical High; Jeneale, Gaynstead High; Kelvin, Excelsior High; and Keanu, José Martí Technical High School.

In an interview with JIS News, Principal, Mico Practising, Geraldine Allen, says the idea of students sitting EPDM at CSEC came from Dawn Duckworth, who teaches grades seven and eight at the school.

“She didn’t teach grade nine, but she came to me with the idea, so we agreed to enter some grade-nine students. With the help of Dwayne Earl, who is the Information Technology (IT) teacher, we identified the students who were the best performers in IT and used that as the basis to select them,” Ms. Allen notes.

“EDPM was chosen because that was the subject we had most resources to focus on. It didn’t require School Based Assessments (SBAs). It didn’t require too much outside of the children’s experience, because they were already doing Information Technology, and some of the areas they did in Library Science. It was thought that (based on) those two factors, they would be able to manage,” she tells JIS News.

Ms. Allen says she is elated at what the children were able to achieve, as they came to Mico Practising at grade seven with minimal GSAT grades.

“We are a Junior High School, so we do not get the children who are performing. We get the children who are at the bottom, so I am really proud of them,” Ms. Allen adds.

The Principal says she is also proud of teachers at the school, because without their input, especially from the grade-seven level, the students could not have been successful.

“The Junior High teachers work really hard with the students, particularly children who are non-performers,” Ms. Allen says.

Based on the students’ success, the Principal says the administrators of the school are considering to register grade-nine students for Human & Social Biology alongside EDPM for the 2018 sitting of CSEC. Meanwhile, Ms. Allen notes that the all-male grade-six class again performed very well in the 2017 examination.

“For the students who just graduated (from grade six), the performance was excellent. The boy with the lowest average in that class was 70 per cent, so the boys did really well. Over 20 of them in that class were placed in their first-choice school,” she tells JIS News.

In June 2016, the school reported that of the 28 boys who did the GSAT from the all-male class, 22 passed for traditional high schools such as Campion College, Wolmer’s Boys, St. George’s College and Kingston College. The overall top GSAT performer at the school in 2016, Taric Myles, attained a 99 per cent average. Mico Practising has a student population of 1,097.

Story by: Ainsworth Morris

Caribbean News

Guyanese Scholar and Olympian Arrested in Iowa ICE Crackdown

Published

1 week ago

September 27, 2025

Deandrea Hamilton

Deandrea Hamilton | Editor

September 27, 2025 – In a shocking breach of public trust and institutional oversight, Ian Andre Roberts, superintendent of Des Moines Public Schools, who is a citizen of Guyana, was arrested on September 26 by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) under a string of serious offenses that raise troubling questions about hiring practices, accountability, and public safety.

Roberts, born in Georgetown, Guyana, is a former Olympian and accomplished scholar. According to online reports, he earned a bachelor’s degree from Coppin State University after transferring from St. Francis College in Brooklyn, where he played soccer. He holds two master’s degrees—from St. John’s University and Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business—attended an Executive MBA program at MIT Sloan School of Management and earned a doctorate in education with a focus on urban educational leadership from Trident University.

Despite these accomplishments, Roberts was living and working without legal authorization. ICE reported that he fled a traffic stop and abandoned his school-issued vehicle. At the time of his arrest, he was reportedly in possession of a loaded handgun, a fixed-blade hunting knife, and $3,000 in cash. He also has a prior weapons-related charge.

ICE officials questioned how Roberts could hold such a prominent role while subject to a final deportation order issued in May 2024. The school district said they were unaware of his immigration status, noting that he had undergone background checks and completed an I-9 form confirming work authorization. Roberts was placed on administrative leave pending further investigation.

This case highlights vulnerabilities in systems meant to safeguard public institutions and underscores the challenges ICE faces in identifying individuals operating outside U.S. immigration laws while in positions of authority.

For many, Roberts has become a near-literal poster child for these enforcement gaps.

Caribbean News

Bermuda Shaken by Targeted Murder as Crime Returns After a Decade of Calm

Published

2 weeks ago

September 21, 2025

Deandrea Hamilton

Deandrea Hamilton | Editor

Bermuda is reeling after the brazen murder of 37-year-old Janae Minors, a mother of two, who was gunned down in her own beauty supply store on Court Street, Pembroke. The attack, which police describe as “targeted,” has rattled the island, not only for its brutality but for what it says about the state of law and order in a country that less than a decade ago was celebrating a dramatic fall in violent crime.

The Attack on Court Street

According to police, at approximately 4:45 p.m. on Tuesday, September 16, a lone gunman pulled up on a stolen black motorcycle, walked into the Beauty Monster shop Minors owned, and shot her multiple times. Despite the rapid response of emergency services, she succumbed to her injuries shortly after being transported to hospital.

Detectives say the killer was thin, tall, dressed in dark clothing with a full-face helmet, and wearing bright gloves. CCTV shows him fleeing north on Court Street, down Tills Hill toward TCD, before turning onto Marsh Folly Road. Investigators are pursuing all leads, with a focus on recovering evidence from nearby cameras and eyewitness accounts.

Police Commissioner Darrin Simons confirmed the attack bore the hallmarks of gang-related violence, a chilling indicator that Bermuda’s gang rivalries — long simmering beneath the surface — may once again be spilling into broad daylight.

A Vibrant Life Cut Short

Minors, remembered as a hardworking entrepreneur with “a vibrant, beautiful personality,” leaves behind two children, ages 16 and 18. Her murder has ignited outrage across Bermuda, not just for its senselessness but for its timing: the island had once prided itself on virtually stamping out gun violence.

Then: Near-Zero Murders

Back in 2014, Bermuda made international headlines for reporting zero firearm murders — a remarkable achievement given the small island had endured a spate of gang-related shootings in the early 2010s. Police credited intelligence-led operations, tighter firearms interdictions, and aggressive prosecutions of gang leaders. Community programs and mentoring initiatives also played a role, giving at-risk youth alternatives to gang life.

By 2015 and 2016, gun crime was at historic lows. That period was hailed as proof Bermuda could beat back the tide of violence with coordinated policing, social investment, and political will.

Now: Alarming Resurgence

Fast forward nine years, and the picture looks starkly different. In 2024 and 2025, Bermuda has recorded a rise in gun-related deaths. Rival gangs such as Parkside and 42 have resurged, fueled by a new generation of recruits. Economic pressures, high youth unemployment, and the easy flow of smuggled firearms through maritime routes have undermined earlier gains.

Community trust in the police has also eroded, making investigations harder and retaliations more likely. Opposition MPs and neighborhood leaders warn that without sustained focus, Bermuda risks sliding back into the violent cycles of the early 2010s.

Public Alarm and Political Pressure

Premier David Burt condemned Minors’ killing as “an escalation of community violence that cannot be tolerated,” promising stronger enforcement and deeper engagement with residents. The Bermuda Police Service has appealed for CCTV, dashcam, and doorbell footage from the area, urging residents that even the smallest detail could break the case.

Yet among the public, frustration is growing. People remember the calm of 2014 — when zero murders were recorded — and cannot understand how the island has returned to headlines dominated by gun violence. The contrast is stark: from celebrating the elimination of gun murders to confronting the targeted execution of a businesswoman in broad daylight.

A Test for Bermuda’s Future

The murder of Janae Minors has become more than a single case; it is now a symbol of Bermuda’s struggle to hold on to the progress it once made. The question facing the island is whether the successes of a decade ago can be replicated and sustained in today’s harsher climate of economic pressure and gang rivalries.

For Minors’ family, nothing can erase the tragedy of losing a mother and daughter so violently. But for Bermuda at large, her death is a wake-up call — that the island cannot afford complacency when it comes to crime.

As one community leader put it: “Nine years ago, we had beaten this. Now, we’re back to fearing what happens when the sun goes down. That is not the Bermuda we want to live in.”

Caribbean News

CARICOM-Africa Summit Yields Draft Pact on Trade, Travel and Reparations

Published

2 weeks ago

September 19, 2025

Deandrea Hamilton

Imagine an Atlantic Bridge connecting the Caribbean Region to the African Continent

Deandrea Hamilton | Editor

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia — When CARICOM leaders convened with African counterparts and Afreximbank officials in Ethiopia, the outcomes were savory and exactly what many Caribbean people want to see materialise as the islands become uniquely reconnected to the African continent.

At the Second CARICOM-Africa Summit, held at the African Union headquarters, leaders moved beyond symbolic language to agree on a draft communiqué that, if finalized, would anchor this partnership in practical action. While not yet officially published by the AU or CARICOM, the document points to an agenda that blends history with urgent twenty-first century priorities.

The draft outlines commitments to improve air and sea transport links, including the pursuit of a multilateral air services agreement to break down the barriers that still keep the Caribbean and Africa physically apart. It also calls for visa facilitation and simplified entry regimes, making it easier for citizens of both regions to travel, study, and work across the Atlantic.

Equally significant are pledges to advance double taxation treaties that could remove one of the most stubborn obstacles to investment. With Afreximbank’s Caribbean headquarters already established in Barbados and the AfriCaribbean Trade and Investment Forum (ACTIF) gaining momentum, leaders now want to lock in the financial and legal frameworks that will drive new business.

Reparatory justice also featured prominently, with the draft communiqué sharpening a joint call for coordinated advocacy. CARICOM’s long-standing Reparations Commission is expected to work more closely with African institutions to demand global recognition and redress for the shared traumas of slavery and colonial exploitation.

CARICOM’s incoming chair, Prime Minister Dr. Terrance Drew of St. Kitts and Nevis, captured the spirit of the gathering when he urged that the Atlantic Slave Trade be reimagined as an “Atlantic Bridge — a bridge of hope, a bridge of advancement, a bridge that will ensure our people take their rightful place in this world.”

For Secretary-General Dr. Carla Barnett, the meeting was a “homecoming,” but also a reminder that concrete steps like the Health Development Partnership for Africa and the Caribbean (HeDPAC) and improved transportation links are needed to transform rhetoric into results.

For citizens back home, wrestling with inflation and economic uncertainty, the Addis outcomes — transport, visas, investment, health, and reparations — are precisely the kinds of measures that can validate leaders’ journeys and rekindle faith in South-South cooperation. What was once only rhetoric now hints at the beams of an Atlantic Bridge, connecting the Caribbean and Africa in ways that could finally turn history’s tragedy into tomorrow’s advantage.