Project Read - Reading Workshops for Caribbean Teachers

Project READ was initiated by Ms. Evie Larmond, a practicing teacher in the Pasco County School District in Florida. Ms. Larmond felt that a very meaningful way in which she could give something back to Jamaica was by making a contribution to education in this country. Ms. Larmond communicated her vision to several colleagues, and together collaborated in developing Project READ.

This initiative has taken the form of teacher workshops in Jamaica, designed and developed to train the local teachers and principals in the various methodologies used for teaching Reading. These workshops are intended to address the areas of reading readiness, developing early readers, identifying and supporting struggling readers, and assessing reading development.

In 2003, Ms. Larmond conducted her first workshop in Mandeville, Jamaica where she and her colleague, Lisa Ciganek, Reading Specialist in Pasco County trained 175 teachers. She has returned every year with a team of professionals from the US and her effort was recognized by the National Literacy Coordinator Mrs. Laurel Brent Harris and the Education Transformation Team, Ministry of Education in 2008.

CCA is a major sponsor of Project Read and has endorsed this international outreach project.

This year (April 2011), Ms. Larmond and the Project Read Team conducted a national literacy conference at the historic Moneague College in St. Ann. Teachers and Principals from all the 6 regions of Jamaica attended. The National Literacy Coordinator, the Ministry of Education, and the Jamaica Teachers Council hosted the event. More than 500 participants were trained in the areas of Professional Learning Communities, Classroom Walk Through, and Assessments for Learning. According to Mrs. Brent-Harris “This was an historical event.”

This is the eighth year since this project was implemented and to date over 2,000 participants have been trained in the areas mentioned. Ms. Larmond hopes that other islands will embrace this project.

Thanks to the team members: Iravonia Abiola & Suzanne St. Clair (Pasco County Schools); Zhivago Adderly; Ibrahim Abiola (Technical Asst); and Kofi Dalrymple (CCA 2nd VP). We would also like to acknowledge the individuals, corporations, and organizations that helped to make this workshop possible.

For more information, please call Evie Larmond at 813-416-3946