School Leadership: A Game-Changer

-
School leadership continues to be an issue of great concern for all stakeholders in the Jamaican education system. Without an educated workforce the society will not have sustainable development and will continue to have anemic economic growth. The National Education Inspectorate (NEI) report highlights that in 41 per cent of high schools in Jamaica, leadership is unsatisfactory, and in 47 per cent of cases, leadership is just achieving the minimum set targets. Disturbingly, 1 per cent of high schools have exceptional leadership. It is clear that the society has a culture of weak school leadership. It is also obvious that there needs to be a public-private partnership to reverse this issue of ineffective school leadership.
Jamaica National Building Society, through their JN Foundation recently organized a School Leadership Summit, which was held on July 25 & 26. Jamaica National is not new regarding their involvement and scaffolding of matters concerning education. Jamaica National has been an important partner in the creation of the Centres of Excellence Programme, which have transformed many under-performing schools into schools of first choice. The Education Revolution, as the Summit was branded, was ground breaking as much as it was intellectually stimulating as it brought together scores of school administrators, board members, officials from the education ministry, bloggers, local and international experts to arrive at workable solutions affecting school leadership. A revolution is usually a process and begins in the mind.

HISTORICAL REFERENCE
A revolution also has a historical point of reference and the JN education revolution is no exception. In February of 2004, the then government established a Task Force on Educational Reform. The Task Force was mandated to create an action plan to arrive at strategies for a world-class education system which would generate the human capital and produce the necessary skills set for Jamaicans to compete in the global economy. The theme of the conference was: Innovate! Impact! Lead! Among the remarkable presenters were, Dr. Christopher Emdin, who spoke on “When Innovation and Magic Collide in Education”. Dr. Emdin, a Science professor and Activist uses Hip Hop music in the teaching of Mathematics and Science. Salome Thomas-El, principal and author spoke on “Creating an Atmosphere of Success in a School. Mr. Thomas-El over the years has transformed the attitudes and strategies of academic staff, parents and other stakeholders to assist troubled students.  The electric atmosphere of the School Leadership Summit went into over drive when Dr. Emdin announced that he would be establishing a Science Genius Academy on his return to Jamaica. Best practices regarding transformational versus instructional leadership were also explored.
In his address to the audience, Prime Minister, Andrew Holness stated that the best investment any country can make is in the education sector. The Prime Minister added that quality education was the next frontier to be tackled by the government. Quality education is not achievable without good and exceptional school leadership. Additionally, the public perception is of such that some schools are better than others regarding students outcome and school management. As a result, parents and guardians avoid sending their children to those schools. A critical element of school leadership which requires more attention is the composition of our school boards. We need to re-examine how we go about appointing members to school boards.
The JN Foundation Summit on School Leadership had an abundance of information shared over 2 days. There was a buzz on social media, as well as, traditional media going into the School Leadership Summit which helped to fuel the high expectation school administrators had of the Summit.  One can conclude that those expectations were met as was evident in the interaction between presenters and the audience. All the presenters were exceptional and delivered effectively resulting in all the sessions recording high levels of audience participation. The stimulating atmosphere started on the first day and continued throughout. It would be useful for Jamaica National to make copies of the School Leadership Summit and distribute same to all schools. Jamaica National Foundation should be commended for their effort in facilitating a world-class conference.  We need to continue and expand the conversation regarding the education revolution in Jamaica. In the words of Donald H. McGannon, leadership is action, not position.

Wayne Campbell is an educator and social commentator with an interest in development policies as they affect culture and or gender issues.
waykam@yahoo.com
@WayneCamo
#JNFEducationRevolution #leadership #education #schools #policy #gender

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Promoting Literacy For A World In Transition

-
Image
Oftentimes we speak about literacy yet, the practicality regarding targeted interventions to support literacy in many educational institutions is hijacked in the politics of education. In the long term both the students and indeed the society suffer the consequences. Literacy ignities creativity and desire. Literacy is that springboard that must propel all students in order for them to navigate their educational journey successfully. Regrettably, without acquiring the tools of literacy one is imprisoned and those around also are serving this sentence. Literacy is a potent tool to eradicate generational poverty. Literacy also serves as a vehicle for social progress and sustainable development. Unfortunately, many societies do not invest as much in literacy skills as they ought to. The Global South oftentimes is burdened by debt repayment to multi-national lending agencies that cut into the budget that should be set aside as an investment in education. The statistic paints a damning pic
Read more

The Psychology Of Dunce

-
Image
The word ‘dunce’ has always had a fixed address in our local lexicon. The summer holidays are now over, yet the narrative associated with the ‘dunce’ labeled knapsacks has carried over into the new academic year. We often underestimate the power and force of our popular culture to our detriment. Gone are the days when teachers were seen as role models for students; there has been a tsunami-like shift in our values and attitudes over the years and this has given rise to a number of sub-cultures many of which are toxic. Many of the social ills of the society are grounded in our painful past of enslavement and colonialization. Unfortunately, the State has been complicit in the promulgation of some of these social problems. Sadly, as a society we have internalized this trauma and as a result generation after generation have had to deal with social problems of various forms in our post-slavery society. Over the decades we have inherited and we have continued to nurture an elitist educati
Read more

Israel Hamas War

-
Image
“Indeed, He who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.”- Psalm 121:4. It appears we have been hearing about the Arab/Israeli conflict from time immemorial. However, it is important that some historical and Biblical context be interjected into the narrative in order for a better understanding of this current war. In the Bible, the phrase ‘Promised Land’ refers to a specific region of land that God promised to his chosen people of Israel. God first gave this pledge of land to Abraham saying, “I will establish your borders from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea, and from the desert to the Euphrates River.” This pledge was reiterated to Abraham’s descendants until the time came for His people to claim their inheritance. Abraham knew that he would not see God’s Promised Land with his own eyes. In fact, God made it clear to him that the land would not be given until four generations had passed, and that his descendants would face the hardship of slavery in Egypt before the
Read more