Mrs. Ornette Edwards Gumbs was one of twenty-three contributors to the book Education In The Commonwealth Caribbean and Netherlands Antilles which is a comprehensive critical reference guide to education. With chapters written by an international team of leading regional experts, the book covers: Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Montserrat, The Netherlands Antilles (Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao, Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Sint Maarten), St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Surinam, Trinidad and Tobago, and the Turks and Caicos Islands.
Including a comparative introduction to the issues facing education in the region as whole, discussions of the impact of local, regional and global occurrences on education systems and schooling, and a review of contemporary education policies, this book gives some visibility to a large number of countries that, rarely, if ever, have coverage in the literature of this field.
The compiling of the book Education in The Commonwealth Caribbean and Netherlands Antilles commenced in 2012, and in her chapter, Mrs. Edwards Gumbs focused on The Education System on Anguilla; The change from a selective system to a comprehensive education, The socioeconomic challenges facing small states; Teacher recruitment, retention, and the selection process, Incentives and working conditions for teachers and Teacher Appraisal. Mrs. Edwards Gumbs stated that the information provided in chapter one of the book was drawn from local, regional and International research, excerpts from her thesis as well as her twenty-eight years of teaching experience in the government primary schools on Anguilla.
Ornette claimed that it is a gratifying accomplishment to be part of this significant contribution to the literature on Anguilla. Mrs. Ornette Edwards Gumbs completed a diploma in Advanced Educational Studies and a Bachelor of Philosophy degree at the University of Newcastle Upon Tyne. In 2004 she was appointed Principal Primary and has worked as an instructional leader at Vivian Vanterpool Primary, Adrian T. Hazell and Alwyn A. Richardson Primary Schools. In 2009 she completed a Masters in Educational Leadership with a Distinction from the Institute of Education, University of London. In August, 2014 she was appointed Deputy Director Human Resource Management and Complaint Manager for the Anguilla Public Service.
– Press Release
(Published without editing by The Anguillian newspaper.)
