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Today we spoke to two educators from one of the pilot schools and they told us how this program designed to keep kids in school has made them better teachers, and turned possible dropouts into star students. Sahar Vasquez reports:

Sahar Vasquez reporting
Three years ago Buttonwood Bay Nazarene School was just another primary school struggling to maintain a low dropout rate and keep students engaged but things changed drastically for the small school when they learnt about the Early Warning System program.

Amelia Bencomo, Buttonwood Bay Nazarene School Principal
"This program has allowed us the opportunity to expand to different ideas in terms of teaching quality, in terms of the physical aspect of the school, in terms of looking at the at-risk students."

Teachers used to stand at the front of the class and teach every lesson with the same mundane style that left students disinterested and fatigued by the pace. Now every lesson is unique and brought to life by each teachers passion and animation.

Amelia Bencomo, Buttonwood Bay Nazarene School Principal
"They are engaging students with different learning strategies and making it more fun. They become very interested when they are engaged. When you meet these students in their own cooperative learning group then you are addressing their learning needs as well. This is what we have embarked on. Training teachers and guiding them through so they can come up with better ideas for their teaching."

Assessment is a word that used to bring a profuse sense of anxiety in the hearts of many children but now the word has no power over them because taking an assessment is no longer a daunting task.

Avril Arthurs, Assistant Teacher Buttonwood Bay Nazarene School
"We had to look at the different subjects and incorporate alternative assessments. Maybe today you might give a little quiz tomorrow they might bring a poster. Looking at our different grading policy we see we are catering to all the different learning styles and giving students a chance to pass as well."

Dropouts and frequent absentees are no longer a major issue.

Avril Arthurs, Assistant Teacher Buttonwood Bay Nazarene School
"The students now bring in their notes explaining why they are absent. In the past they would just be absent. Now they know if they don't come to school the principal and truancy or even the police officers would end up at the homes so parents would call. The students that were constantly absent we started to see a trend where they were coming to school more often."

The EWC programme may seem like the hero in this story but it is really the teachers. They used the plan as a stepping stone to create an environment that engages students and keeps them interested and accountable.

Amelia Bencomo, Buttonwood Bay Nazarene School Principal
"For the past 2 years we have not had any dropouts. We are at a zero dropout rate."

Amelia Bencomo, Buttonwood Bay Nazarene School Principal
"Zero bullying at our school and the behavioral issues that we encounter are very minimal."

It's no small feat, but really just an illustration of how a small change in strategy can solve a big problem.

Ephesus SDA, Queen Street Baptist, Central Christian Primary, and Trinity Methodist are the other four pilot schools that are using the EWS program. It is mainly targeted at primary schools.