A school review is taking place in Anguilla by a number of senior education officials assisted by a visiting educator from the Isle of Wight, Gary Booth, and in consultation with the Principals of the Schools.

Chief Education Officer, Mrs. Rhonda Connor, is one of the local officials involved in the review. She spoke to The Anguillian about the work. “The School Review focuses on what is happening at each of the schools in terms of four particular areas,” she explained. “These are: the quality of teaching and learning; student achievement; safety and behaviour; and quality of leadership.”

She continued: “We, as the Department of Education, need to know on an on-going basis how our schools are performing and how our children are doing. It is also a requirement of the Education Act for us to review our schools. We will be meeting with our Principals and Deputy Principals to report orally and then a full report will be given to the schools. After that, the schools will be required to use the information, celebrate successes and put together an action plan where there is room for improvement.

“The Education Act requires us to engage in school inspection periodically. We have with us our consultant, Mr. Gary Booth, an Education Officer, from theIsle of Wight, and he has been working with us on a number of projects in the past. Just recently, he worked on the Math Workshop and we are happy to have him back leading the process. We also have two of our retired Education Officers, Mrs. Verna Fahie and Mrs. Rosena Brooks, as well as the Education Officers.

Mrs. Connor pointed out that the school review process involved a number of steps. In the first place, the Principals were engaged in a school self-evaluation exercise. “They looked at their strengths and the areas for improvement,” she said. “We also canvassed the views of parents and students on questionnaires which they completed and brought back to us and which we analysed. A significant portion of our time was spent in the schools observing our students in the classrooms. We were engaged in work scrutiny, looking at teachers’ planning documents and other records.”

Mr. Booth said that school inspections were a large part of the education system in the United Kingdom for the past fifteen years. “In the UK, our schools are inspected every three years and judgments are made about the four areas of which Mrs. Connor spoke about here in Anguilla,” he stated. “We in the UK would say that the improvement in the schools has been the result of the accountability that is now expected of them due to the inspection regime. However, the inspections in the UK are conducted by external inspectors who are not part of the Isle of Wight’s education personnel.

“Here in Anguilla, the difficulty, in some ways, is that the review of schools is conducted by the same people who are supporting them – the schools. This is a school review: not an inspection. What we are trying to ensure is that the officers who have been reviewing the schools are not the same persons, but the critical friends or link officers of the schools. Once the review is complete, it will be for the link officer then to take the action plan for improvement forward.”

So far, the Orealia Kelly Primary School, the Morris Vanterpool Primary School and the Workshop Initiative for Support in Education (WISE), a section of the Albena Lake-Hodge Comprehensive School, were reviewed last week. The on-going plan is for all schools in Anguilla to be reviewed in the course of this academic year.

Teachers in Anguilla received a boost for their dedicated service and hard work following their Annual Union Conference which had as its theme “Stand Up For Teachers”. That theme was coined for the observance of World Teachers’ Day and was also adopted by the teachers in Anguilla.

The October 5 Conference, at the Rodney MacArthur Rey Auditorium, was very well attended. It was also the teachers’ first major meeting since they complained, several months ago, about their financial situation worsened by salary cuts and taxation.

Minister of Education, Edison Baird, described the theme as compelling and challenging to Governments, unions and the wider community to better support teachers. “All of us would agree that teachers are nation builders, far more so than any other group of professionals,” Mr. Baird observed. “Yet, it sometimes seems that in countries the world over, teachers have had to fight more than any other professional group for better pay, better working conditions and opportunities for professional development and advancement. While we must admit that, in Anguilla, through the combined efforts of the Teachers’ Union and successive Governments, teachers are in a much better position than many around the region…”

Mr.Baird continued: “I believe some strides have been made in ensuring that teachers’ salaries are commensurate with the high expectations placed on the profession. I also believe that the Department of Education must be commended for continuing to provide access to training and opportunities for your on-going development. However, I am fully aware that many of you are working in less than ideal conditions.

“There may be many improvements that need to be made to our school environments. The unfortunate reality is that we are hamstrung by the lack of the financial wherewithal to address many of these needs. Capital budgets have been slashed because of Government’s need to reduce expenditure. While the economy struggles, the needs of our schools continue to grow. At Ministerial level we do what we can, with the little that we have, to address the most urgent needs, while lobbying non-Government entities for assistance.”

Mr. Baird noted that despite the above challenges, many teachers continued to demonstrate their commitment to improving student performance and attracting the support of communities to improve their schools. He thanked the teachers for their unwavering dedication and for their patience and understanding at a time of economic crisis.

In a rallying address, Anguilla Teachers’ Union President, Emma Ferguson, told her colleagues that if they wanted people to stand up for them, they must first learn to stand together and to demonstrate a spirit of excellence. She also had a strong word for Government and other stakeholders: “Stand up for us so that we don’t have to stand against you. Stand with us, the anchor of this nation!” she exclaimed.

The keynote speaker was Dr. Leroy Hill who, among other appointments, is the Director of Humanities and Education at the Anguilla Community College and Facilitator of the UWI Open Campus.

The former member of the Teachers’ Union Executive, spoke on the topic: “Teachers Standing in the Gap.” He said that the fundamental reason for persons serving in the teaching profession was because they saw themselves as “change-makers; innovators and orchestrators.”

He made the point that teachers were required to set standards, aspire to high expectations that in turn would inspire and motivate all learners. He stated that teachers were responsible for creating a personal environment in the classroom thus making learning a personal aim for students. “We are called as teachers to adopt and to respond to the different abilities of students,” Dr. Hill added.

Other speakers were Chief Education Officer, Mrs. Rhonda Connor; President of the Albena Lake-Hodge Comprehensive School Student Government Association, Shamar Gaskins; and Second Vice President of the Teachers’ Union, Michael Skellekie who gave the Vote of Thanks.

The conference also included reports on the functioning of the Teachers’ Union by the Treasurer, Ms. Eva Hodge, and General Secretary, Mrs.Lovelle Cockburn.