Struggling reader emerges as Most Improved Student at BGS

Graduate of the Barrouallie Government School (BGS) Rayshawn Richards who left grade five as a struggling reader rose above those limitations to emerge as the Most Improved Student at the school’s recent graduation ceremony. In fact, Rayshawn placed 11th for the school in the Caribbean Primary Exit Assessment (CPEA).

At the June ,19, event Richards received a huge round of applause from the audience after vice principal Joy Davis-Haynes, commended him for making an outstanding turnaround in his performance at CPEA.

“If you knew his history, you would understand why we are so excited for him,” Davis-Haynes said, as she asked Richardson to stand so that he could be acknowledged by the audience.

She said that Richards left Grade 5 as a struggling student, but when she taught him, she saw “his hunger” to want to do better at reading.

“Because if you asked him questions, he’s intelligent, he has all the answers in the correct places but he can’t read it if you put in on the paper so he was really struggling, and we worked with him in grade 5,” she said at the graduation of the Grade 6 students.

“ Sometimes I used to say ‘Lord, Richards again’… because it’s every word he doesn’t know, and he just go back and he sit down, and he coming back and say ‘teacher, I don’t know this word,’ he go back [again] and he come back, ‘teacher I don’t know this word’, but I realized he had a hunger, so I had to take him on evenings after school, work with him,” Davis-Haynes further outlined.

Richards told SEARCHLIGHT that this “hunger” to which Davis-Haynes was referring was stimulated by his parents.

He explained that he suffered a head trauma a few years ago, and has been struggling in his education ever since. His mother added that it got to a point where he couldn’t even identify certain objects, and as a result his reading skills and his grades took a blow.

Now, after practising and sounding out words, Richards placed 11th of the 47 students who sat the CPEA from his school.

The 11 year old added that he had a strong support system from his parents, his teachers, his aunts, and his cousins but advised other students who struggle with reading to not always rely on others for assistance.

“Keep reading. Keep going in your book and don’t ask anybody to tell you the words. Sound them out.”

Richards said that the Parliamentary Representative for Central Leeward, Orande Brewster, who was in attendance at the school’s graduation ceremony, gave him $100 as a prize for his resilience.

Brewster, who delivered brief remarks at the ceremony, congratulated the youngster on a job well done, adding that Richard’s story “really touched my heart.”

“I’m not bashing the first place, nor the second place, nor the third place, but sometimes we have to encourage those who have improved, and push them and help them to continue on that part of development,” the Minister of National Mobilisation, Social Development and Youth said.

The vice principal added that while Richards may not be at 100%, “we have to celebrate from whence he came.”

Another student at the BGS who was highlighted for notable performance was the 2023 Valedictorian, Atiya Gordon. She was the only student in the school who averaged 90 plus per cent in the CPEA. She came out ahead of the second place performer Jaiden Bulze who scored an overall average of 84%, and third place performer Teavon Francis who scored an overall average of 82%.

With her excellent average Gordon placed among the top 40 performers overall in the 2023 CPEA.

She also received the Social Studies and Language Arts awards at her school’s graduation ceremony.

The 11 year old told SEARCHLIGHT that she never thought she would have been the only student to score a passing average in the 90s as there were other students in her class who are really talented as well.

“It’s really amazing to know that I’ve made it this far. All the studying and after school classes, I’m really glad to know it was worth it,” she beamed.

Gordon who is proof that consistency and diligence are keys to success said her grades have always been high and so her achievement did not come as too much of a shock.

“I expected my results to be that high, but I was mildly surprised, I would say, but I was mostly just…proud of myself.”

Gordon, who will be continuing her education at the St Vincent Girls’ High School said she plans to keep her head forward, ready and set for whatever opportunities that may present themselves.