Attentive students

Met Ernest Marc teaches psychology

Met Gary lecturing

Some of the students in class

Judy Vollbrecht rscj

On January 13, 2007, in a third grade classroom of a school named “Dumarsais Estimé” (after a Haitian president who was a native son of Verrettes and did much to advance education there), about forty adult students in their best clothes squeezed uncomfortably behind the children’s desks with looks off eager anticipation and some anxiety on their faces.

This was the opening day of the Centre de Formation Pédagogique du Sacré Coeur de Jésus, Niveau Supérieur.  Mèt Gary Marcelin welcomed them, discussed schedules and principles of the new school, and tried to answer the big question:  Is it, or is it not, a Normal School?    

It is trying to become a Normal School, to prepare teachers for grades 1-6, and later to grade 9. Classes meet every weekend from Friday afternoon to Sunday afternoon, and during vacations. Most of the students are also teachers who never had a chance to get formation; a good number of them never finished secondary school. They come from a variety of backgrounds and range in age from 20 to 55. There are four who teach at a school high in the mountains, a five or six hour walk from Verrettes. They changed their school’s schedule so that they could arrive in time for Friday’s classes!  

L’Ecole Dumarsais Estimé is run by the Little Brothers of St. Thérèse, who offered the Centre de Formation Pédagogique the use of a classroom after school hours. It had one small lightbulb, which (if the town electricity was working) faded off and on irregularly. We rewired the classroom with three more energy efficient bulbs, and now borrow a generator every Friday evening so that the professors can teach and the students can see. Progress! But still, there are no books, no visual aids, no computers…  And it was the second week before the professors got copies of the curriculum.

Actually, the professors are an extraordinary lot. They include two Inspectors of Schools for Artibonite Region, and the Directors of four of the best secondary schools in Verrettes. They are people who have the knowledge and influence to help us do what is required so that we can get state recognition.

It was the idea of one of the Inspectors to set the tuition low enough that anyone who met the academic standards would be able to attend, because the need for qualified teachers is so great, and the possibility of a good education shouldn’t be just for those who have money. Tuition is about US $30.00 a semester, not enough to do much of anything, so the professors are working as volunteers, and will receive a small gratification when we receive some money!

If a professor has access to a computer, he can type his class notes; otherwise he writes then out longhand. Sometimes he’ll buy gasoline so he can run the generator at his school (if it has one) to use its computer (if it has one). Then he goes to the photocopy place and (if it’s working) gets copies made for all of the students. At the beginning of class, the students pay for their copies (if they have money) and the class can begin. Sometimes their notes aren’t ready until the next week, so they make do. Classes can be very lively, as different generations and mentalities come face to face. They have been warned that being in the first class will be a challenge. They will have to be flexible, adaptable, creative, patient, and determined. And ready to work together to overcome obstacles that will arise.  

As a matter of fact, the school had a premature birth. Nobody expected it! It was supposed to have been born in September 2007, which would have given time to check the electrical system, buy some books, get a computer for the office, get an office, a DVD projector, some maps, maybe get our own little generator, and even find money to pay our professors. How could this have happened? What pushed this infant into the world so quickly?

For the past five years, the Religious of the Sacred Heart have had a monthly formation program for the monitors who help us in Timoun Tèt Ansanm, our program for children between the ages of seven and twelve. In 2005, we decided to invite the teachers of the local schools to attend this program, because we saw how poor was the education that our children were getting. When the directors of some of these schools realized the value of our program, they wanted us to expand it, and eventually have it become a Normal School so that their teachers could get certified.

We formed a committee, and decided to have two formation days a month during the 12006-2007 school year, and work during that time to lay the foundations for the proposed Normal School. However, when the new academic year began in September 2006, the sense of urgency among some committee members was such that they insisted we could not wait another year. They wanted to start immediately! At that point we had neither teachers nor a syllabus. We asked Frère Polynice to teach a course on fundamentals of pedagogy – four Saturday morning sessions over a period of six weeks. They were excellent; people were pleased and excited about the program. The momentum was building.

Those six weeks gave us time to do a little planning. We got a copy of the state curriculum for Normal Schools, put announcements on the radio, posted flyers, made announcements in churches, decided on fees, sounded out potential teachers, and held meetings with interested students. We began taking applications. We put a new announcement on the radio. It was great. But not many people signed up.

We wondered whether we would have enough students, but on January 13, they were there! We had an opening ceremony in the dining hall of the Brothers’ school; the students met their professors, and classes began the next week. When the news spread that this school was actually in existence, many more people came to sign up. It was crazy!  We eliminated all students who were still in school and thought they could do two things at the same time. We eliminated all teachers who had not yet passed 11th grade. Finally we settled down with 54 students, about 20 more than we had really wanted! The exams at the end of the semester will weed out those who are too weak.  

I am the link between the newborn school and the Society of the Sacred Heart. I take every opportunity to explain principles of Sacred Heart education to the Committee, the professors, and the students, based on the Goals and Criteria of the Network of Sacred Heart Schools in the United States. The response is always positive, and influences many of the decisions that are made. I am there almost every day of class to see that things are running smoothly, so I am getting to know and has good relationships with the students and professors. I am also learning lots of things about Haitian education in the process!

Clearly, this Normal School is not yet normal! It needs help. Most people in Verrettes have little knowledge of the world outside of Haiti, so visiting professors could have a huge influence on the future teachers, who are eager to learn new methods of teaching. Since classes at the Centre de Formation Pédagogique are given in French, there might be place for French-speaking RSCJ (or other) teachers here when no qualified Haitian teacher is free to teach a class.  

The new curriculum emphasizes appropriate technology and ecology.  We need up-to-date books, especially reference books, and educational materials in French, as well as simple equipment that can demonstrate scientific principles – the solar system, the human body, principles of physics, etc.  

If things work out, it is hoped that the school could buy land and build its own facility in a few years. Then perhaps it could have classes during the week, and in place of high school graduates gathered on street corners talking or playing dominoes, we might see youth with a purpose in life who have hope for Haiti. We count on your prayer!

Judy Vollbrecht rscj
Province of the United States, missioned to Verrettes, Haiti