On Friday, 13th November 2020, The Department of Education launched the Online Teachers’ Resource Centre with a brief ceremony and live demonstration at the Teachers’ Resource Centre Auditorium. Ms. Glynnesia Franklin, better known as Teacher Rachie, established the Online Resource Centre. Tr. Rachie was also recognised at the ceremony in the presence of her mother and maternal grandmother.
Chief Education Officer, Mr. Bren Romney, in his opening remarks, referred to Ms. Franklin as tiny in stature but a giant in the classroom. His sentiments were met with unanimous nods of agreement from other Department and Ministry of Education personnel who attended the event.
Among the attendees were the Hon. Ms. Dee-Ann Kentish Rogers (Minister of Social Development and Education), Dr. Bonnie Richardson-Lake (Permanent Secretary, Social Development and Education) and Mrs. Dawn Reid (Education Services Planner). Education Officers, Curriculum Officers, Principals, Deputy Principals and teachers from the various primary schools were also in attendance.
While offering brief remarks, the Honorable Minister revered Ms. Franklin for contributing such a valuable resource to the Education Community in Anguilla. She lauded the integration of the resource, into our eLearning Platforms, as a step in the right direction considering a great number of unknown variables that could work against us in the future.
Mrs. Susan Smith’s (Education Officer- Pre-Primary, Primary) introduction of Ms. Franklin included an extensive list of Tr. Racheal’s contributions to education in Anguilla. As a matter of fact, the creation of The Online Teachers’ Resource Centre was a response to Tr. Rachie’s colleagues reaching out to her for assistance while she pursued further studies at the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill. She revealed this as the inspiration behind the creation of the online resource during an interview conducted by Curriculum Officer with responsibility for Literacy, Mrs. Vanessa Hobson.
During the launch, which was chaired by Science Curriculum Officer, Mr. Winston Duncan, and streamed live on Facebook, Ms. Franklin gave a live demonstration of the online platform and urged teachers to make the evolution of it a collaborative effort by adding materials and resources they have found to work well in the classroom.
The Online Teachers’ Resource Centre also appeared to be quite helpful to remote learning operations. Teachers in attendance agreed that the launch was timely given that E-Learning Days were slated for Monday and Tuesday of the following week.
Education Officer- Curriculum, Ms. Sandra Fahie, closed out the launch with a brief vote of thanks, which again expressed appreciation to Ms. Glynnesia Franklin for contributing such a valuable resource to Anguilla.
– Press Release
