A VISITING United States associate professor says she will miss the “heavenly” city when she leaves for home at the end of the week.

Mary Alice Barksdale, from the state of Virginia, is associate professor at the department of teaching and learning at Virginia Tech‘s College of Liberal Arts and Human Science.

She came to Port Elizabeth in January to implement a literacy programme in which pupils wrote, illustrated and informally published their own stories at the John Masiza Primary School in Walmer Township, after being awarded a Fulbright Scholar grant for educational research.

Barksdale, who assisted five teachers at the school – in Grades 1, 2 and 3 – said this week would be her last at the school.

“I‘m attached to these teachers and kids. They‘ve got my heart. I‘ve absolutely loved to be here. The teachers are quite experienced professionals,” she said.

The school‘s head of department, Thembisa Ntaka, said Barksdale would be leaving a legacy behind because “pupils now should be able to read and write”.

“Reading and writing is a foundational skill that all pupils need if they are to succeed in life.”

She said Barksdale had helped in encouraging teachers to move to the next level.

“What she‘s doing is in line with the curriculum guidelines – that is, allocation of sufficient time for reading. In addition to formal teaching of reading, all schools are encouraged to set aside at least 30 minutes a day for the entire school to read.”

Ntaka said the Education Department had promised “to help us put story books into all classrooms”.

Grade 3 head, teacher Sizeka Hedashe, said the school had been blessed to have Barksdale there. “Pupils are now able to write stories about their own experiences.”

Grade 3 pupil Ayabonga Dlova, who wrote a story about a dog that bit an old man in a forest, said he had enjoyed the writing and reading programme introduced at the school.

Hedashe, his teacher, said what Barksdale had started would be carried on.

Barksdale, who has taught several courses in Malawi for Virginia Tech in recent years, was a repeat Fulbright recipient.

In 1995, she took part in a lecturing Fulbright scholarship, in which her work focused on teacher education reform and improvement.