Bolt’s alma mater among hundreds of schools hit hard by Melissa
Published:Monday | November 10, 2025 | 12:40 AMErica Virtue/Senior Gleaner Writer
The full weight of the damage to schools in the parishes ravaged by Hurricane Melissa could be known this week as officials from the Ministry of Education, Skills, Youth and Information get a better assessment of the impact on plants in the storm’s aftermath. In the rehabilitation efforts, emphasis is to be placed on students sitting external examinations, and the primary school-leaving exams.
Education Minister Dr Dana Morris Dixon, during a press conference last week, said the schools’ repair bill will be “humongous”.
Some schools have experienced mild to complete devastation.
Among the schools that are expected to have a significant repair bill is the historic William Knibb Memorial High School in Trelawny – the alma mater of athletics icon Usain Bolt.
It is one of more than 600 schools that have suffered damage due to the destructive assault of the Category 5 hurricane on October 28.
Named after the English Baptist minister and missionary William Knibb, who is known chiefly for his work to free enslaved Africans, the school’s principal, Linvern Wright, is president of the Jamaica Association of Principals of Secondary Schools (JAPSS).
Wright is not only evaluating the physical loss at the school for which he is principal, but is also assisting others, teachers and students alike – under the umbrella of JAPSS – to cope following the trauma during and since the passage of the hurricane.
The school, he said, was one of the designated shelters for the parish, and he watched helplessly from the principal’s cottage as the hurricane ripped the roof off most of the historic structure. Only the cottage, the auditorium, and the block which holds the theatre arts and language lab rooms were saved.
The latter has a slab roof.
LOGISTIC SUPPORT
“I was there, because we have a shelter there, so I was just giving logistic support to the shelter manager in terms of keys and stuff. Plus, I just wanted to be there because where I live, it’s kind of okay and there are people there. So I just came by to just be here.”
According to Wright, the roof began to give way between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. on that fateful day, and individuals seeking shelter were moved from upstairs classrooms to downstairs. Initially, they were being housed in the school’s auditorium as water blew in.
“About 1 p.m.– 2 p.m., and then some came off, and then another about after 4 p.m. That was when most of it came off. The poles (light) went down and everything. But the trees were down and the roof of the administrative block was off before the eye passed. So we had to put the people who were in the shelter downstairs. And the fact is that most of the places around were devastated just as here, including Holland High,” Wright told The Gleaner.
According to Wright, even though the individuals were taken downstairs, it was also flooded; but they rode it out, and by morning the flooding had subsided.
He said the board held a meeting last week and is to hold another with teachers today.
“A meeting with all the staff [will be held] on Monday to see how we do things, but we have to try to get the levels back as early as we can. So we’re going to do an assessment in relation to safety – what areas can be used. And, you know, how we really just ease people into coming back, given the devastation; because it’s a new look, which is not a good look, you know, which is going to affect moods and that sort of thing… .” he explained.
“So we just have to prepare people for that in a kind of gradual way. Students, everybody. Once communication is back up, we’re looking to have some meetings with peers within the next week, certainly by about Monday, Tuesday,” he said.
He said much of the school’s records were secured as they were wrapped tightly, but some computers were lost.
However, many others were not as fortunate.
SEVERELY DAMAGED
Holland High School in Trelawny, located at Martha Brae in the parish and which was also a shelter, suffered severe damage. Severe damage was done to schools in St Elizabeth, with such institutions in almost all communities damaged. Nearly all schools in the parishes worst hit suffered severe damage, and some were completely lost. St Elizabeth Technical High School and Black River High were severely damaged.
Yesterday, Wright said he was in Westmoreland to support his colleague principal and examine the damage to Belmont Academy.
Last week, Morris Dixon said damage ranged from leaks to complete destruction.
The ministry is expected to confirm the value of the destruction in the coming weeks.
The minister said her ministry plans to prioritise students who are doing exams, such as Primary Exit Profile, Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate and the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination.
Damage was also done to independent schools and the ministry, Morris Dixon said, was committed to supporting them. Communication to the areas has been aided by the Government through the provision of Starlink devices.