Hayes mother overjoyed after finally getting son’s school transfer

There are now tears of joy for Nickeisha Singh Smith, whose pleas for a transfer of her 12-year-old son to nearby Vere Technical High have finally been answered.

The 32-year-old mother's dilemma, published in Monday's Gleaner, bared the transportation and financial crisis faced by many parents whose children are placed in schools miles away instead of alternative options closer to home.

Singh Smith's son was placed at Foga Road High, 17 kilometres (around 10.5 miles) away from where he lives in Hayes, Clarendon, instead of Vere Technical, within walking distance.

The family's plight is shared by hundreds, if not thousands, of schoolchildren who transition from primary school to high school after sitting the Primary Exit Profile examination.

That placement amplifies other gaping deficits – such as a projected $1,500 daily expense for taxi fares and food that the mother said was unaffordable.

O'Neil Lewin, acting principal of Vere Technical, came up with a solution by creating a spot at the already-cramped school despite some seventh-graders having to be accommodated in the auditorium because of classroom-space deficits.

“Right now, I am just overjoyed. Words can't express how I am feeling. To think that I was down in the dumps, and the next minute, I am on top of the world,” Singh Smith said in a Gleaner interview Wednesday.

“I am so thankful that they found a way to make it work.”

Singh Smith said she has already received acceptance correspondence from Vere Technical and will be taking it to Foga Road High to collect the release letter.

But Singh Smith's woes are not completely over as she is still struggling with monthly medical and other expenses for the care of her husband Winston, a bedridden amputee struggling with diabetes and hypertension.

“I still have needs, with my husband needing adult diapers and his medications, but at least this, my biggest concern, is taken care of, and it gives me hope that all will be well,” she said.

If anyone wants to assist Singh Smith with adult diapers and food, she may be contacted at 876-402-4042.