By Tom Tracy - Florida Catholic
Photographer: COURTESY PHOTO
An aerial view of L'Ecole Nouvelle Royal Caribbean in Labadee, Haiti, currently under construction.
POMPANO BEACH � Lori St. Thomas imagines a time in the very near future when students at St. Coleman School, where she is principal, will talk via Internet with students in post-earthquake Haiti, the poorest nation in the Americas.
Along the way, she hopes students on both ends of a new sister-school relationship will learn foreign language skills, inspire each other academically and develop insights into each other�s world.
That will happen thanks to partnership with Royal Caribbean International that was facilitated by a school parent.
The cruise line, which has long maintained a private resort destination in Labadee, on Haiti�s northern coast, has been putting the finishing touches on a new K-12 and vocational/technical school there. It will be called L�Ecole Nouvelle Royal Caribbean.
Photographer: COURTESY PHOTO
L'Ecole Nouvelle Royal Caribbean in Labadee, Haiti, has been constructed with special fiber composite earthquake and hurricane-resistant panels. The construction style offers significant savings in cost, construction time and energy costs.
The sister-school relationship will not be one of financial support from St. Coleman so much as cultural exchange. But students here also will provide some symbolic material support such as donations of books, backpacks, pencils, paper, pens, erasers and teacher supplies, according to John L. Weis, a parent of two students at St. Coleman and Royal Caribbean�s vice president of Guest Port Experience.
Weis, who said he was re-assigned to Haiti for approximately five months in the wake of the earthquake while on loan to the Clinton Foundation, said even before the Jan. 12 earthquake the cruise line had a vision of setting up a series of model schools in Haiti.
�There are not enough schools to go around and not everyone gets a fair shake in terms of education,� Weis said. �Our chairman said it was his vision to start helping Haiti. We were one of the first responders to Haiti after the earthquake and we have a 25-year history of working there.�
To give some perspective to the great need in the Labadee area, Royal Caribbean estimates there are 5,000 primary school aged children in the greater region, but only 2,000 primary school slots.
Focusing on Labadee means the possibility of seeing real results in youngsters� lives through nutritional and health support, fostering greater respect for the environment and raising the bar in education.
�That is what we hope the relationship with St. Coleman might facilitate: that the kids should strive for more than day to day existence,� Weis said.
Photographer: COURTESY PHOTO
John L. Weis, a parent of two students at St. Coleman School in Pompano Beach and Royal Caribbean�s vice president of Guest Port Experience, is overseeing the cruise line's school project in Labadee, and suggested that St. Coleman's students develop a sister-school relationship with their peers in Haiti.
�We talked with the students, sent a newsletter home to the parents, conducted a school supplies drive, and put up a huge bulletin board with pictures showing the school construction and details,� said St. Thomas, adding that the students are excited about the sister school project.
�The younger kids don't totally understand the impact of the earthquake and situation in Haiti but the older kids understand what is going on over there,� she said. �Our kids have been writing letters so when school starts in Haiti Oct. 18 they will have a letter waiting for them.�
One of St. Coleman�s staffers, Susan Jaen, director of admissions and a French-speaker, planned to fly down to Labadee Oct. 21 for the school�s dedication. She will tour the site, meet teachers and students and take pictures of the project.
L�Ecole Nouvelle has been constructed with special fiber composite earthquake and hurricane-resistant panels used to build residential, commercial, government and military structures without the use of cement, steel or wood. The construction style offers significant savings in cost, construction time and energy costs.
Initially, the school will feature seven classrooms and other spaces and accommodate 125-150 students. As it expands to maximum capacity, enrollment will be closer to 360. Later, during a second phase of development, the school will accommodate 700.
As the school develops, older Haitian students will have access to employment opportunities with Royal Caribbean, which will offer evening language courses, basic childcare and other specialized tourism education.
Moreover, it is hoped the 670 students at St. Coleman will provide the Haitian students with a window into North American life and modern education.
�We may set up a Skype (Internet phone service) account so the kids can talk to each other,� said St. Thomas, who hopes to eventually travel to Haiti. �It will be interesting in watching the reaction of our children get lessons you can't get from a textbook.�
To make sure the sister-school relationship doesn�t flounder, Weis said he will encourage periodic field trips for the Florida students and faculty to Labadee. He is also hoping area high school students will join the partnership.
The new compound in Labadee also is expected to offer:
� Women�s health programs, including education in the care of newborns/infants;
� Micro-finance loans to encourage business opportunities; and
� Meeting places for community functions that can also serve as shelter space during tropical storms, hurricanes or other natural disasters.
The operating costs for the school will be approximately $133,000 annually. Royal Caribbean intends to fund these costs through three sources, namely the Solano Foundation, Inter-American Development Bank and USAID.
�It is not that we are just putting up a building, a lot of thought has been put into this: Royal Caribbean wants (the Haitian) people to have a stable life,� St. Coleman�s principal said.
