Given its location, one would never guess that positive things are happening in Seaview Gardens Primary School.

The institution is sited in a Kingston inner city - in the belly of southwest St Andrew - where effluent flows freely from open drains through sections of the community and bad roads and zinc fences punctuate parts of the landscape.

But despite some of the obvious needs, students at the community's only school are doing fairly well academically, given the circumstances, the teachers say.

The school has a strong parent-teacher association (PTA), with as much as 98 per cent support from parents, according to the school's administration.

"The parents are interested in the children's learning," said principal Elaine Jones. "Mark you, some of them come with their little grouses. One and two of them will say that their child's book was not marked on a particular day," she said.

Apart from those minor grievances, she said, the parents cooperate. "In the days, you see the parents sitting in the class with the teacher," said the principal.

When school is out for holidays, many of the parents turn out to prepare the school for the students' return.

The school's courtyard is often too small to hold the number of parents who attend PTA meetings, said Vice-Principal Joy Allen, adding that absentees would often call to find out what transpired.As a result of the parental support, the teachers say, the academic performance of the students, is commendable. The students on average, maintain an 80 per cent grade, teachers told The Gleaner. Violence is not a major problem either.

"We don't have the big fight and the knife and what have you. We don't have that here because in the mornings, some of the parents will come in and enquire about their children and other students too," Jones said.

"Mark you, they don't have the money to support financially, but they are here," she said.

gareth.manning@gleanerjm.com