Head girl of Balaclava High, Tashana Atkinson (fourth from left), and coach of the school's essay team, Rosemarie Morgan (third left), hold the 2008 Rotary Club of Santa Cruz Trophy. Looking on from left are Vivienne Honeygan, guidance counsellor; Adriana Walker, deputy head girl; Dwight Brooks, head boy, and Delkie Perriel, principal. - JIS Photo

While the media are replete with stories of violence and mayhem at some educational institutions, other schools are quietly keeping the peace as they turn out students who are well rounded, disciplined and possess high self-esteem.

The Balaclava High School in St Elizabeth creates a family atmosphere for its students while imploring them to strive for higher goals.

Since 2005, the school, which recently gained high-school status, has won and successfully defended the annual Rotary Club of Santa Cruz Essay Competition. In doing so, it has gone up against and bested academic giants such as Munro College, St Elizabeth Technical and other secondary educational institutions in the parish.

Elated Principal Delkie Perriel attributes the success to the work of dedicated teachers and highly motivated students.

"Sometimes it is the students who a school gets that determine success, but attitude makes a big difference," she stressed.

Healthy self-esteem

The school administration at Balaclava makes every effort to ensure that students develop a healthy self-esteem and a positive outlook.

Echoing the principal's view, Vivienne Honeygan, guidance counsellor, admitted, "We don't get the most brilliant students that some of the other schools seem to get, but we make the best of what we have. We are an achieving institution, moulding men and women for tomorrow," she declared.

Students at Balaclava are quite grateful for the offerings at the school.

"This school is wonderful because we have a family type environment here. Our teachers put out their best for students, if we misbehave, stern responses are made immediately with motherly and fatherly rebuking of course," said Adrianna Walker, Balaclava's deputy head girl who aspires to be a medical doctor.

Past student of Balaclava High School and communications student at the Northern Caribbean University, Ruth-Ann Carr, said while studying at Balaclava, she learned more than how to pass an exam, but also how to function in the real world and to become a well-rounded person. "During my years there, it was proven to me that wonderful people were still alive, while it was not an expensive school, what was charged was not really affordable to everyone, still teachers were always willing to share and give a listening ear. They did not just teach academics, it was about our entire life, spiritually and emotionally," she said reminiscing.

Continuing, Carr said that in addition to providing a family atmosphere, the school provided quality education.

"Top-of-the-line education comes from that little building in that remote community, some might feel is locked away from the rest of the country," she said.

In terms of academics, the former secondary school doesn't boast the usual 10 and 11 CXC/CAPE passes that academic giants do; still, the principal is proud of how far Balaclava has come and the showing it has produced in various extra-curricular activities.

"We have students who are very good in their (academic) performances, and I would say academics are not the only way to judge the success of an educational institution, but we are going places, because students here are now gaining six and seven CXCs along with our success in the essay competition," said a hopeful Perriel.

"The academic side of children is very important, but very important too is the interpersonal skills, self-esteem and ways to resolve conflicts," she insisted.

Indeed this perspective seems to be bearing fruit, as, while the school has to deal with the occasional fist fight, it doesn't have conflicts involving weapons.

So how does Balaclava manage to keep school violence at a minimum? According to the principal there are several strategies.

Of course there is a disciplinary committee that closely monitors students to ensure that rules are followed. The school's administration feels the minister of education's plan to implement routine searches in schools is a necessary step, but cautions that it must be done properly and fairly.

Still, there is one other important initiative that keeps violence at bay. Balaclava does not only provide instruction for students, but for parents as well.

"A number of our social ills can be minimised if parents play their role by providing proper nurturing and guide the development process of their children. In this regard, we have parenting seminars, so that different skills can be learnt by everyone as we talk about the growth of our school and development of our students," said Honeygan.

Parenting skills taught

The parenting seminars are held twice per year and parenting skills are also taught at the parent-teacher association's quarterly meetings.

Some of the topics covered include: parenting with intimacy, teen self-esteem and how to get your child to listen to you and how to listen to your child.

Close to 70 per cent of the parents attend the parenting seminars, as the school's administration tries to stem school violence, by creating an atmosphere where dialogue is encouraged between parents, teachers and students.

Indeed, the 32-year-old Balaclava High School is quietly making strides in producing well-rounded competent students who have both the academic and social skills to function in the real world.

This feature is a special collaboration between The Gleaner Company and the Jamaica Information Service.