D&G Foundation ensures ‘No Mind Left Behind’

A child who reads for 20 minutes a day is exposed to 1.8 million words a year, enough to shape a future filled with possibility. Global research increasingly confirms the importance of literacy development in youth. In response, the Desnoes & Geddes (D&G) Foundation has sustained its “No Mind Left Behind” Literacy Programme at Seaview Gardens Primary. Now in its final year, the three-year, $8-million initiative has reached nearly 1,000 students. This academic year alone, the number of students reading below grade level dropped by 15 per cent among boys and 10 per cent among girls.

“We recognise that literacy is the cornerstone of a child’s development, and it is this understanding that gave rise to the programme. The 2022 Jamaica Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) revealed that 38 per cent of children aged 7–14 had not acquired foundational reading skills, a statistic that demands urgent and sustained intervention. Through data-driven, impactful programming, we are committed to contributing in a meaningful way to national development. After all, the strength of Jamaica’s future depends on how well we equip its youngest minds today,” said D&G Foundation Director Dianne Ashton-Smith.

The programme is designed with the intention of understanding the needs of students with low literacy levels and targeting them individually. By the 2024–2025 school year, the programme recorded a reduction in students reading below grade level, with an increase in those reading at grade level and a five per cent rise in those reading above. Notably, boys who made up the majority of underperforming readers in 2023 have demonstrated the most marked improvement. In the previous academic year, 45 per cent of boys were reading below grade level. Today, that figure has dropped to 30 per cent, with 70 per cent of male students now meeting or exceeding reading expectations.

OVERWHELMINGLY POSITIVE

These outcomes are supported by the introduction of Individual Learning Profiles this year, which enable teachers to align reading goals with students’ interests and learning styles. The profiles allow for personalised benchmarks, support consistent tracking of progress, and help pinpoint areas requiring additional intervention.

“Since the programme, there have been stark improvements. I was going through tests just last week and the evidence is there. The children in the programme missed their foundational years due to COVID-19. When they were supposed to be in grades 1–3, they weren’t in school – they had no devices or access to online learning. So while they’ve moved through the system, they’re still behind. But they love coming to the literacy room because the environment supports how they learn best,” said Christine Bailey, literacy coordinator for the programme at Seaview Gardens Primary.

“I’m impressed at the thought of a corporate entity putting so much effort into sustaining a programme like this. Corporate entities tend to look at programmes that can yield immediate rewards but a programme like this is for the future because when we look at the projections where the children will be in the next year or two, they are promising. We are sure students will leave school with critical thinking skills and we will have some good leaders,” added Bailey.

While the trajectory is overwhelmingly positive, programme leaders underscore the need for additional tools to support student development. These include school supplies, manipulatives, printers, and environmental upgrades such as air conditioning to enhance comfort and focus, all factors proven to influence retention and comprehension.

The foundation aims to raise reading levels for all programme participants by the end of May 2025, when students will sit their final grade assessments. As the programme enters its final stretch, it serves as a compelling case study for how focused, well-resourced interventions can alter educational outcomes and disrupt intergenerational cycles of underachievement.

The D&G Foundation remains committed to investing in early childhood development and literacy as essential building blocks for Jamaica’s future workforce, economy, and social cohesion. With tangible results now in hand, Seaview Gardens Primary stands as proof that when minds are nurtured, potential is unlocked and the entire country benefits.