Saint Lucian teachers will benefit from training focused on best practices, current research and practical tools that create inclusive environments for neurodiverse students, announced Ambassador Anton Edmunds, Saint Lucia’s Ambassador to the United States. This initiative will focus on the educational needs of children diagnosed with autism, ADHD and dyslexia.
The one-week programme which begins on July 12th, will be delivered by Lesley University’s Institute for English Language Programs Beyond Borders, with approximately 100 teachers slated to participate. A follow-on initiative that will focus on training for social and healthcare workers and other community stakeholders, is being planned for the fall of 2021.
“We are very grateful to Lesley University and the Authentic Caribbean Foundation (ACF) for agreeing to launch this initiative in Saint Lucia. The ACF has once again stepped up in a big way to assist us in addressing the needs of the disabled community in Saint Lucia”, commented Ambassador Edmunds. Specific to this initiative, the Embassy collaborated with the Ministry of Education’s Special Education Unit on an August 2020 needs-assessment which informed the focus of the initiative.
The partnership between the ACF and the Embassy in Washington D.C. and Consulate in Miami, goes back to 2020, when in the Foundation secured counselling services for Saint Lucian students in the US affected by COVID-19. The ACF has also provided back-to-school supplies as well as food and clothing items to the disability community in Saint Lucia, and in May 2021, delivered a motorized wheelchair to the St. Lucia Diabetes & Hypertension Association.
The Authentic Caribbean Foundation (ACF), founded in 2012, is a non-profit organization based in Boston that is committed to transforming the lives of Caribbean children and their caregivers – impacted by disabilities and HIV/AIDS – through providing health and educational support.