The Achievement Learning Centre (ALC) has been given a quit notice to vacate

The Achievement Learning Centre (ALC) has been given a quit notice to vacate their rented property located at 3, Elliot Avenue, Pottersville. The school for children with disabilities will be evicted on May 31, 2020 unless they pay up on their rent. ALC Director Beverly Leblanc confirmed that the school has been asked to vacate the rented building due to non-payment of rent.

Leblanc blamed the inability of the school to pay its rent on the hard times that had befallen parents. She said many parents got hit by financial woes and this impacted their ability to pay for their children’s tuition fees, causing the school to suffer loss of revenue. She added there was a time the school received assistance from the National Employment Programme following Hurricane Maria and this was used to settle rents and subsidize for teachers.

“As of 2nd term January 2020 this funding has not been forthcoming and hence, we were unable to service our rent,” Leblanc said. “COVID-19 didn’t make it easier for us and so it has plummeted us into a much deeper hole and so we were asked to give up the place by the 31st of May 2020. So while we have a name, we do not have a home.”

While the coronavirus situation has compelled the ALC to teach its students through online channels using Google Classroom, Leblanc said the school will have no physical place to return to after the COVID-19 pandemic is over.

The school started with only two students in 2011 and currently has 22 students aged 6-15 years with several others already graduated and either working or furthering their education in higher academic institutions. The school for disabled children train enrolled students to function well in normal life while also exposing them to standard curricula education as obtainable in other public schools across Dominica.

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