Two of the school leaders from the Albena Lake-Hodge Comprehensive School, Principal Mrs. Rita Celestine-Carty and Deputy Principal, Mr. Perry Richardson, attended the 29th biennial Conference of the Caribbean Association of Principals of Secondary Schools (CAPSS) held in Barbados from the 24 – 29th July under the theme: Resilience in Caribbean Education: Reimagining, Retooling and Recovering.
The Conference convened one hundred (100) delegates from ten (10) different Caribbean territories from Belize through Dominica. to Trinidad and Tobago.
The Formal Opening Ceremony was held under the patronage of the President and Prime Minister of Barbados. The Honourable Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley delivered the keynote address and offered sound insights on the implications of reimagining Caribbean education.
The succeeding formal sessions included presentations by CARICOM personnel, the CXC Registrar and Dr. Freedom Cheteni of Research.University. Research developed within the CAPSS family was also presented at the forum. In addition, several sessions focused on promoting health and well-being among school leaders and in their school communities.
There was considerable focus on the use of productivity tools by school leaders as well as the implications for the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and augmented reality in the secondary school experience. Cultural and social interactions were also planned including a Cultural Evening where delegates regaled each other with presentations from their various territories.
The Awards Ceremony held at Frank Collymore Hall under the patronage of Dame Sandra Mason, the President of Barbados, brought the Conference to a close.
Mrs. Carty and Mr. Richardson are deeply satisfied to have benefited from the experience of CAPSS 2023 and the opportunity to share with and learn from and with their colleagues across the Caribbean Region. They are grateful to the Department and Ministry of Education for facilitating their participation. The ALHCS will certainly benefit from the enhanced networking among this group of professionals.
The next biennial CAPSS Conference will be held in Grenada in 2025.
