PHOTO CUTLINE: 24 Student Care Coordinators proudly display their awards. Minister Hon. Silveria Jacobs (sixth from left) standing with the coordinators. DCOMM Photo
Some 24 Student Care Coordinators (SCCs) were awarded certificates of participation on Wednesday morning for a recent training that was conducted by Student Support Services Division (SSSD) of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Youth & Sports.
The training ran from August to December 2012 and was financed by USONA. Participants received theoretical instruction and in groups they worked on how to apply the skills presented.
Minister of Education Hon. Silveria Jacobs, being a former teacher, SCC and school manager before becoming Minister of Education, encouraged SCCs to continue to upgrade themselves and in so doing have an impact on education.
Minister Jacobs, Acting Secretary General Quincy Harrigan (M.A.Ed.), and Head of Student Support Services Division Olga Mussington-Service (M.S.) presented the awards to the participants.
The award ceremony also included remarks by SSSD Head Olga Mussington-Service (M.S.), facilitator drs. Eveline John-Roberts, and class spokesperson Karen Wattley. During this event the speakers stressed the importance of the objectives of the training being carried over to the practical situations and thanked the award recipients while encouraging them to be consistent in their efforts.
The objectives of the training were for SCCs to understand their roles and position in the care system; roles as support to teachers, students and parents; the need for accurate tracking of students; the responsibility for proper documentation of student performance and referral; the need for accountability towards management, parents; using regular reporting and capacity building.
The award recipients included Adelicia Mossel, Agnes Brookson, Amorette Hodge, Anna Halley, Arlene Gumbs, Aster Allen, Bill Rattiger , Candyta Richardson, Christopher Wever, Daphne King, Estella Matinburgh, Hilda Brown-Carty, Jacklene Joedoleksono-Gumbs, Jamila Javois-Arrindell, Joanne A.R. Reiph, Karen Wattley, Laureen Prince, Michael Teixeira, Miranda Morris-Carty, Myrna Richardson, Richard White, Rozella Groeneveldt, Samantha Beaton, and Shaina Fernandes-Carneiro.
Awards of appreciation were also presented to the persons facilitating the training for the Student Care Coordinators. These persons included drs. Eveline John-Roberts, drs. Janique Kolfin-Baly, Morela Hodge-Holtermann, drs. Xiomara Balentina, Olga Mussington-Service (M.S. )and Denise Johnson (M.A.).
The Student Support Services Division also presented all school managers of elementary schools with a "Teacher Resource Manual" for their resource room.
Olga Mussington-Service stated that much of the resources of SSSD has been spent on capacity building at the elementary school level and that the books contains various interventions for problems that students present with. Mussington-Service further stated that the manual can be a great source for teachers and SCCs as we work together in the best interest of our students.
In closing of the ceremony it was stressed that the participation and completion of the training was not an end in itself, but a beginning to remain focused in the execution of the role of the SCC.