Ragni Trotta’s Blog
The Impact of Childhood Poverty on Literacy and Education in Jamaica
Childhood poverty is pervasive in Jamaica, with nearly 20% of the population living below the poverty line. Poverty can significantly impact a child's education and literacy, leading to a cycle of low academic achievement and limited opportunities. Let's explore the...
Why Books4Kids Jamaica is Making a Difference in Early Childhood Education
Books4Kids Jamaica is a non-profit organization that provides preschool children in Jamaica with books and educational resources. The organization focuses on Early Childhood Education (ECE), recognizing the critical role that reading plays in a child's development....
Early Childhood Education in Jamaica
Pre-school children in Jamaica are spread among 2,676 Early Childhood Institutions. There is a low share of public provision of Early Childhood Education through government-run schools, and only 20% attend public Infant Schools. Community-operated Basic Schools and...
Child Poverty and Early Childhood Education in Jamaica
There are 107,115 children between the ages 3 – 5 year in Jamaica. According to UNICEF, at least 25% of these children are growing up in immense poverty, experiencing hardships that no child should have to endure. Many live in overcrowded housing, routinely suffer...
The Impact of Covid on Education in Jamaica
Jamaica is the largest island in the English-speaking Caribbean with a population of 2.93 million people. During the COVID pandemic, the island’s economy lost 150,000 jobs, pushing 400,000 Jamaicans further into poverty. In the tourism sector alone, more than 50,000...
The Ways Living With Poverty Affects Kids
UNICEF's Director of Programs, Sanjay Wijesekera, reported in 2020 that an alarming 1 in 6 children lived in poverty worldwide. It was also expected that the effects of the pandemic would have a significant impact on the lives of many more kids. As a response,...
How Art Impacts a Child’s Development
You may have seen a kid with smooth, creamy finger paint as she made squiggles with both hands on a paper sheet. You may have also witnessed a child with many crayons as they explored their creativity. These children's expressions were captured as they studied their...
The Little Things…
The little things that happen in early childhood shape our lives. Already as a very young child, I could read and write. Mostly, this was my mother’s achievement. She understood the importance of Early Childhood Education and diligently read the ABC to me every day from the time I was a baby.
Helping a Child Overcome Reading Anxiety
Most children learn to read between the ages of 4-5. However, for some children, reading can cause significant bouts of anxiety, especially when tasked with reading aloud. This might be from internal fear or hesitation or even be from a negative experience they are...
Four Strategies to Improve Reading Comprehension
For growing readers, developing reading comprehension skills is vitally important. As children enter new grade levels, they’re likely to be faced with different reading challenges. From textbooks to homework and complex reading assignments, how a child understands...