Regional Director in the Ministry of Education, Skills, Youth and Information, Karlene Segre, has encouraged educators to reflect on their schools’ achievements and use the lessons from those successes to build even stronger institutions.
Speaking at the Region Three Back-To-School Leadership Summit for principals and school board chairs in Coral Spring, Trelawny on August 11, Ms. Segre said the region has much to celebrate, pointing to excellence among teachers and students in areas ranging from innovation and entrepreneurship, to robotics, athletics and agriculture.
Among the highlights was Ferncourt High School’s first-place finish in the Junior Achievement Jamaica business pitch competition, which has earned the students a place in the international America’s Company of the Year competition.
She also pointed to St. Hilda’s Diocesan High School, who represented Jamaica in robotics in the Netherlands, and Westwood High School performance in the Schools’ Challenge Quiz Competition.
Ms. Segre implored educators to continue pushing their students towards excellence.
“Set the standards and work towards them diligently until you achieve your goals, and that’s what we want for each school here in Region Three,” she stated.
Other achievements celebrated included the region’s performance in the North West St. Ann Primary quiz competition, where Bamboo Primary School emerged as the winner; the school garden initiatives, which Linton Park Primary School dominated; and the athletic accomplishments of Shanoya Douglas from Holland High School and Sanjay Singh of William Knibb Memorial.
She also highlighted Duval Ebanks, teacher at the Camperdown Primary School, for being chosen as the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Innovation Teacher of the Year.
Ms. Segre also pointed to the region’s infant etiquette programme, which was launched at all infant schools, as part of efforts to develop well-rounded students, which Portfolio Minister, Senator Dr. the Hon. Dana Morris Dixon, endorsed.
The achievements, Ms. Segre said, demonstrated that the region is making progress despite the challenges of the past year.
“We are celebrating teaching excellence. We are celebrating our school gardens. We are celebrating athletic promise, and we have some global reach,” she said.
She acknowledged, however, that the celebration must be accompanied by reflection and renewed effort in areas where the region needs to close the gaps with national performance.
Ms. Segre stressed that school leaders must use their successes as a foundation to identify areas requiring greater attention and go bolder in pursuing better outcomes for their students.
