One On One joined the LASCO Chin Foundation, the Ministry of Education and Youth (MOEY), and the Jamaica Teaching Council (JTC) to celebrate 130 teachers who were honoured for their outstanding contribution to Jamaica’s education sector. Held under the theme ‘Embracing Excellence in a Changing Environment’, the teachers were feted at a glamorous awards ceremony held at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel.
Our CEO, Mr. Ricardo Allen, was at the event and One On One’s very own Shanille Bennett-Edwards, who serves as our Head of Operations at One Academy, was among the teachers nominated for the Teacher Of The Year award. She is a seasoned educator who lives by the mantra – “Every Child Can Learn, Every Child Must Learn”. Though she did not take home the award, she shares that she was honoured to have been nominated alongside so many distinguished colleagues.
The highlight of the evening was the recognition of the Teachers and Principal of the Year. Jody Brown of Morant Bay Primary School was named the Teacher of the Year; Discovery Bay High School’s Dwayne Mulgrave was named the Principal of the Year; and Gina Mullings of St. Catherine High School was named the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Teacher of the Year.
The winners were awarded trophies, a cash prize of $100,000 each, and gift baskets for their outstanding contributions to the education system. They were also gifted with an all-expenses-paid trip to the 2023 Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) Conference slated for Denver, Colorado in the United States.
In her remarks on behalf of Permanent Secretary, Maureen Dwyer, Acting Chief Education Officer in the Ministry of Education and Youth, Dr. Kasan Troupe praised the educators for the hard work displayed throughout the pandemic. She shared, “Today, we are embracing excellence in a changing environment. I’m what I am because a teacher loved me and worked with me…and made a difference in my life, and that’s what you do every day, colleagues. You cause children to believe, and you unearth their own excellence,”
Further praises were showered onto the teachers by Lisa Watts, Deputy General Manager at LASCO Manufacturing Limited, on behalf of Founder and Executive Chairman of LASCO Affiliated Companies, Lascelles Chin. “Few hold the destiny of a nation in their hands quite like its teachers,” she stated.
The LASCO Chin Foundation has been awarding outstanding Jamaican educators since 1997, but the event was last held in 2019, as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
One On One is proud to show appreciation to our nation’s teachers. They face tremendous challenges daily, and these were heightened during the pandemic. Our teachers are the backbone of our education system. They shape the future of our children, they inspire and motivate, and they make a difference in the lives of those they teach.
Events like these acknowledge and celebrate their contribution and help boost the morale of our teachers. So many of them have left the profession or have migrated to other countries. Rewarding them for their service can be the motivation they need to stay and teach our children.
We send sincere congratulations to the awardees.
