1. INTRODUCTION The importance of primary education completion cannot be understated for the children of Belize. Just as imperative is the completion of secondary education, whether general, technical and vocational, because it fosters equity, development, and competitiveness for young people in their adult lives. UNESCO’s Regional Bureau for Education in Latin America and the Caribbean proposes a concept of quality that integrates five dimensions of secondary education from a human-rights approach: 1. relevance, fostering learning that takes into account the developmental needs of individuals and societies; 2. pertinence, the need for education to be meaningful for people of different social and cultural strata; 3. equity, giving to all persons the aid and support that will guarantee equal opportunity to access and complete their education, and fully develop their potential; 4. efficacy, ensuring that relevance, pertinence and equity-related goals translate into concrete actions; 5. and efficiency, the proper assignation and use of resources in the quest of the proposed objectives.11 Within the context of providing a child-centred, child-friendly, and empowering secondary education to children, Julian Cho Technical High School (JCTHS) is a modest high school that strives to meet the goals set out by Articles 28 and 29 of the CRC, the General Comment on Education, and UNESCO’s concept of quality secondary education for the young people in Toledo district of Belize. A technical high school that sits near a former dumpsite close to Big Falls Village, JCTHS has grown to be a thriving high school with name recognition nationwide and promising student achievements to accompany it. According to school officials, at least 90% of students enrolled at JCTHS come from families that live below the poverty line established by the Government of Belize. Nevertheless, the students appear to have benefited from its innovative approach, adding to the school’s successes and continuous growth. Julian Cho Technical High School has been selected to be part of this Knowledge Lab Series because of its promising model of delivering a quality and inclusive secondary education, which promotes a vision for equity, equality, and excellence.
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11 OREAL/UNESCO. 2008. “Student Achievement in Latin America and the Caribbean: Results of the Second Regional Comparative and Explanatory Study (SERCE).” Executive Summary. Regional Bureau for Education in Latin America and the Caribbean.