NewzMONTEGO BAY, St James — Founder and director of Integrated School for the Arts Jamaica (ISAJ) — the newest educational institution in the western end of the island — Natalie Morris says the plan is for the school to develop global- ready students. Just weeks after the private high school opened its doors for the 2026/2027 academic year, Morris told the Jamaica Observer in an interview that it is already making progress towards that goal. “Global citizens, that’s our motto.
It means regardless of your ability, we want you to — even if you’re living locally — you should be thinking global…As we are living in a world where artificial intelligence is shaping the way we do business and the way we learn, I want our students to be thinking in that realm,” said Morris. She said the varied nature of the student population is already helping to bring that vision to life. “We have a diverse school even though it’s so small.
We have Spanish speakers, we have Mandarin speakers, we have English speakers,” explained Morris, who pointed out that the school has already started establishing international connections — including one expected to provide students with opportunities to travel overseas. “Just right now, we were identified by Marnix College in Curaçao...they are coming… to Jamaica next year to partner with us as a language exchange programme. “We want to get the students to be thinking that we are not just in a local space, we are in a global space, and that’s how we have been pushing the school,” Morris told the Sunday Observer.
Located at the Blue Diamond Shopping Mall in Ironshore, on the outskirts of Montego Bay, ISAJ currently has 45 students enrolled in grades seven to 10. The grade 10 cohort will progress to grade 11, in which students will be guided in preparing for the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations. Morris shed some light on the school’s origin.
“I was a consultant to Naz Children’s Centre where I actually assisted them to implement a high school programme,” she explained. Naz Children’s Centre offers tailored learning programmes for children who may have special educational needs. “Naz, as most persons would know, it would be from preschool to elementary, and I implemented a high school programme there in 2018,” Morris explained.
“Fast-forward to 2026, on February 28 this year, the owner of Naz Children’s Centre called me …
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