A significant evaluation process is underway for schools across the island, aimed at enhancing the educational framework and ensuring a robust foundation for future improvements. One of the leaders behind this effort, Daphne Caine, this week shared some very encouraging news. She announced that the Etio external validation team has begun to identify trends from their evaluations. This effort is a big first step toward developing an inclusive curriculum that can meet the needs of all different types of learners.
The evaluation process began with a research team from Etio visiting approximately 20 schools in a 6-8 week timeframe. Those lessons learned will help inform a larger strategy that seeks to make other evidence-based changes in critical areas of the education continuum. Caine underscored what’s at stake with the initiative. He encouraged that it builds a strong framework for proposed reforms, particularly in the area of early years education, an area that’s on the cusp of powerful growth and transformation.
“Teachers should be encouraged to not only facilitate learning but to monitor learner understanding dynamically,” Caine noted, highlighting the evolving role of educators in this new framework.
A prototype evaluation framework piloted last year has set the stage for subsequent evaluations. The new, deeper evaluation process is expected to take three years to fully implement. By July 2026, we hope to have the program completely rolled out in every one of the island’s schools and educational establishments. The new finalized framework for these regional equity evaluations will be released in July. This is a big win in our years-long shared fight to advance educational quality.
In addition to the focus on academic rigor, recommendations for younger children include a larger emphasis on play-based learning approaches. What these strategies do is engage students but it differentiates learning,” Caine commented on his visit.
As these evaluations continue, many of these environments still lay externally unvalidated. This collaborative oversight pushes all learning spaces — big and small, across the country — to be ready for these exciting, new opportunities and innovations.
