“Let’s brighten the future by beginning with the children of today” (Gittens 2026)
If St. Vincent and the Grenadines is serious about improving educational outcomes, then literacy instruction in primary schools must be addressed with urgency. At the heart of this issue is a critical gap in the current Language Arts curriculum: the absence of a structured Scope and Sequence to guide what literacy skills are taught and the order or when they are taught across grade levels.
Yvette Gittens, an Early Childhood Practitioner and Literacy Specialist, has rightly called on the Ministry of Education to act. Without a clear, systematic framework, literacy instruction in many primary classrooms is left to chance, varying widely from teacher to teacher and school to school. This inconsistency places students at risk, particularly in the early years when foundational reading skills must be firmly established.
Mrs. Gittens formally raised this concern in a letter to the Chief Education Officer on May 25, 2025, requesting the implementation of an intervention-based Literacy Scope and Sequence for all primary schools. Her message was clear: if teachers are guided by a unified, evidence-based plan, the ideal that “children learn for life and not just for school” can become a reality rather than a slogan.
The call for reform is grounded in the Science of Reading, a robust body of research from cognitive psychology, neuroscience, and linguistics. This research leaves little room for debate. Reading proficiency does not develop naturally; it requires explicit and systematic instruction in phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension. Approaches that encourage children to guess words using pictures or context clues have been shown to be ineffective, particularly for struggling readers.
Models such as Scarborough’s Reading Rope clearly demonstrate how decoding skills and language comprehension must work together to produce skilled readers. When any of these strands are weak or missing, reading success is compromised. A national Scope and Sequence would ensure that these critical skills are taught in the right order, at the right time, and reinforced consistently from one grade to the next.
The benefits of such a framework are undeniable. It would provide clarity and direction for teachers, ensure vertical alignment across grade levels, support consistent instruction nationwide, and allow for meaningful assessment and early intervention. Most importantly, it would remove the guesswork from teaching literacy and replace it with purposeful, evidence-based practice.
As the nation enters 2026, the question is no longer, whether change is needed, but whether the will exists to act. Literacy is the foundation of all learning. When children struggle to read, they struggle to succeed—not only in school but also in life.
The Ministry of Education must respond decisively by developing, implementing, and supporting a structured Literacy Scope and Sequence rooted in the Science of Reading. Teachers must be trained, equipped, and held accountable for its delivery. Our children deserve nothing less than an education system that gives them the tools to read, learn, and thrive.
Mrs. Gittens is willing to work with the Ministry of Education to ensure that this gap is filled. Literacy cannot wait. The future of St. Vincent and the Grenadines depends on it.