Robert Lalah, Staff Reporter

Students of the Solomon Levy Basic School at Mountain Veiw Avenue in St. Andrew take a break from their lesson to smile on Monday. The school is one of two (the other is the Curlin Johnson Basic School) in the Mountain View community which were forced to close for several days because of a flare-up of violence in the area. Both schools reopened on Monday. - Norman Grindley/Deputy Chief Photographer

When the children who attend the Curlin Johnson Basic School at Saunders Avenue, off Mountain View Avenue in South-east St. Andrew turn up for classes, they're prepared for the worst. These three and four-year-olds, who still struggle to pronounce the letters of the alphabet, have grasped a contingency plan that they jump right into whenever gunshots ring out in the war-plagued community.

"They immediately hit the floor, face first and cover their heads," said principal Lorrette Fitz-Simmons. "Whenever there is an ease in the gunfire, we move them quickly into a back restroom where we huddle until the police and soldiers arrive," she said.

Mrs. Fitz-Simmons explained that the teachers had to come up with this plan, after years of violent incidents in the community.

"When there is a flare-up of violence, things can get really bad. Men running in the streets, firing guns and that kind of thing. The place is fenced and there is a gate, but that can't stop gunshots," she said.

In recent weeks, the violence in the area, which is part of a long-standing rivalry between adjoining communities, has escalated. The school was forced to close its doors on November 2 and only reopened last Monday. But even as classes resumed, things were far from being back to normal.

"As you can see, we barely have 20 children here today (yesterday). We have about 150 students in total, so you can see that the parents are still afraid of sending their children to school," Mrs. Fitz-Simmons said.

The streets in the area were still eerily quiet when the news team visited. There was hardly anyone in sight and only a few cars passed by.

Gripped with fear

"The community is still very tense and I'm tired of it. I've been here for 21 years and I love my work and my children, but I really don't know how much longer I can keep this up," Mrs. Fitz-Simmons said.

When the school, which is operated by a nearby New Testament church, was first opened, there were 250 students registered and nine teachers on staff. Today, there are a hundred less students at the school and only three teachers, including the principal. "Because of the violence, students drop out and teachers leave," the principal explained.

Many of the children who attend the school are from a rival community, so their parents are often wary of sending them into enemy territory.

"That's why I would love to relocate the school. I would love to move it to a neutral place where the children don't have to fear for their lives when they come to school. They should only be concerned with being happy," the principal said.