“Without good leadership there can be no effective reforms,” Education Minister, the Hon. Rolston Anglin, JP told school leaders from government schools on 6 September, 2012.

The school leaders were gathered for the first Principals’ Consultative Council meeting for the new school year.  Chief Officer, Mrs. Mary Rodrigues, and other Ministry representatives, Dr. Jo Wood and Ms. Cetonya Cacho, were also on hand for the occasion.

Minister Anglin thanked school leaders and their teachers for their commitment and hard work over the last school year. He congratulated the group on the fact that their efforts had translated into another record year for Year 12 students leaving school with 5 or more Level 2 passes, as well as encouraging progress in English and Maths in Year 6 at primary.  However, he reminded the school leaders that this represented progress not the ultimate goal.

“We are not where we need to be yet, in terms of standards. As school leaders the choices you make must come down to what is best for the children under your care. Our work, your work, will not be done until every child makes appropriate progress, every child succeeds,” Minister Anglin stated.

Minister Anglin thanked school leaders for embracing and supporting the ambitious school reform agenda for the last three years, despite the challenges presented. He reminded them of the critical emphasis that is being placed on raising standards.  He encouraged school leaders at all levels to promote the importance of Maths and English as fundamental and foundation skills, to believe that our Caymanian children need these skills and are capable of achieving them, and then to act on this belief to give our children every chance for success.

“Improving standards and having clear and unequivocal expectations about achievement are critical to moving our education system from good to great,” the Education Minister said.

The Principals’ Consultative Council meets monthly and is chaired by school leaders on a rotational basis. Mrs. Rodrigues explained that the Council was established by the Ministry in 2010, to give principals a voice in decision-making, to network, and to support their professional development.

“Our school leaders offer a very important source of advice to the Minister and Ministry, and we draw on their many years of collective expertise and experience for important decisions,” Mrs. Rodrigues stated.

Missing from the top photo are: EEPS Principal Allison Wallace, CIFEC Director Robin Kyne, LSHS Principal Adrian Jones as well as SBPS Principal Janice Bradshaw, CPS Principal Claudette Lazzari and WEPS Principal Fraulein Brown from Cayman Brac, who were participating by Skype