THE management of the Mae’s private school has sought to assure parents and its teaching staff that recent internal adjustments were made in the interest of the students and the preservation of the school’s strong and successful academic record.In mid-May, parents protested the decision to cut the salaries of Grade Six teachers by $20,000. Parents also said they had paid a fee of $20,000 for extra classes for the students, but that these were not happening.

“We take our motto ‘For Excellence We Aspire, For Excellence We Strive’ very seriously and we assure our parents and students that our commitment to that goal has never wavered nor will ever waver,” Mayfield French, the founder of the school, said in a statement.

Upon strategic review, she said Mae’s adjusted its approach to exam preparations based on changes in exam format and staffing. The decisions taken were also grounded on the philosophy that each teacher is responsible for the success of Grade 6 students – as a team effort – and not the onus of a select few, French argued.

“In its 24 years of existence, Mae’s School has remained steadfast in its commitment to excellence. They have been able to do this through the hard work and dedication of our Directors, Assistant Directors, Supervisors, all of our teachers from Playgroup to Secondary and general staff, and by constantly changing and trying new things. Change is not always easy, nor is it popular, but it is necessary,” she stated.

French said that recent call by parents for increased collaboration and improved communication among the Mae’s family will be addressed as an immediate priority.

She said that contrary to statements made to the media, the School is led by a multi-ethnic and diverse group of teachers and support staff, “and everyone’s input is essential to our overall success.”

According to the schools’ founder, Mae’s remains a competitive private learning institution that offers academic growth from the infant to secondary level. The School’s Grade Six scholastic record shows that it has consistently produced achievers among the country’s top ten, with 21 students from Mae’s School succeeding to be among the top 1% in the nation last year.

The School has also realised high success at the Secondary level with consistent 90% passes in subjects like Electronic Document Preparation and Management (EDPM), English, Human and Social Biology, Information Technology (IT), Physics, Principles of Accounts (POA) and Principles of Business (POB).

“We’ve seen success, and like every family, as a school, we’ve also had our challenges. However, we genuinely believe in what we are doing and why we place emphasis on the attainment of excellence at each and every level, keeping our objectives in mind and our students, parents and faculty at heart,” French stated in a report.