History

Brief History

The Methodist Church established the Foundation Methodist Agogic Centre (MAC) in the Netherlands Antilles in March 1976 to promote education and philanthropic services based on Christian principles.

One of the aims of the MAC is to establish, maintain and operate one or more schools for elementary, secondary and higher education, etc.

-In August 1976, the MAC Pedagogic Institutions (schools) commenced operation with one (1) school campus that had (3) kindergarten and four (4) Grade 1 classes of 111 girls and 160 boys. The elementary school was successful from its inception and its pupils enrolment grew by leaps and bounds. By 1990-1991, the pupils enrolment was 891. By 1991-1992, three (3) fully-fledged elementary schools (Campuses) came into being. The names of the schools were Rev. John A. Gumbs Campus, Browlia F. Maillard Campus and Mary C. Voges Campus.

The Board of Directors developed a school restructuring plan which was implemented in August 2005. As part of the restructuring plan, the Mary C. Voges Campus was merged with the Rev. John A. Gumbs Campus and so formed the extended Rev. John A. Gumbs Campus.

MAC Early Stimulation Centre was established in August 1987 to cater to 3-year olds. The policymakers and educators of the Methodist Agogic Centre believed that it was important to provide children with the opportunity to socialize and to stimulate their intellectual development and growth before they start the elementary school. The enrolment of the Early Stimulation Centre in 1987 was 37 pupils—20 boys and 17 girls. By 2000, there were three classes with a pupil population of 72.

The main thrust of the pedagogic institutions of the Methodist Agogic Centre is the teaching of English Language as the Medium of Education (ELME). In this creative endeavour the Central Government of the Netherlands Antilles, through the Ministry of Education, and the Government of the Island-Territory of Sint Maarten have been very supportive on these fronts—human resources, encouragement and financial allocation.

The MAC schools are committed to developing in the pupils a strong love for learning, a high level of self-esteem, independence and self-discipline. Therefore, it develops and implement a curriculum that is broad, balanced and challenging, so as to give the pupils the opportunities to experience success in learning; to work to standards which challenge their full potential and to form a base for making informed choices later in their schooling. To provide a theoretical foundation, the thinking of different philosophers was used (eclecticism).

A partially prescribed curriculum guide is developed to ensure uniformity in lesson planning among the classes. There is a strong child-centred approach to the curriculum to accommodate individual flexibility and creativity.

The curriculum for the Early Childhood Education programme is a skill and competency based programme and not a subject-based one. However, the Childhood Education programme is subject-based as a preparation for the secondary school system.

Social studies is the core of the educational programme. As in any well-planned integrated programme, the best features of a unified approach are extracted and used to facilitate the child’s learning.