dms Organization Ltd. awarded its annual Joanna Clarke Excellence in Education award to John Gray High School last Wednesday night at an awards ceremony hosted at the Ritz-Carlton’s Blue restaurant.
The award provides John Gray High School with CI $12,000 which will help fund the school’s Blueprint for Literacy initiative.
The initiative aims to ensure that all high-school students, upon graduation, will be able to perform at their grade levels and pass at least four external exams.
The JGHS literacy committee was established in September 2005 and the grant will assist in further funding and the continued success of the committee’s ongoing programme, facilitating the purchase of 20 books for each of the school’s 50 classroom libraries, books for book club members and audio books for classroom use and leisure reading.
The Minister of Education Alden McLaughlin was in attendance at the awards ceremony to share his insight regarding education in the Cayman Islands and assist in recognising the award winner and finalists.
Also in attendance were members of the Joanna Clarke Award Committee and dms Organization, as well as educators from the finalists’ schools.
The other finalists recognised at the ceremony included East End Primary School (the prize would have been dedicated to funding the school’s stock of musical instruments), North Side Primary School for its Read it! Rate it! Release it! programme, PACE High School for its work education project and Prospect Primary School for its Passport to Peace programme.
The Joanna Clarke Excellence in Education award celebrates the exemplary service of long-time educator Ms Joanna Clarke and provides funding of up to CI$12,000 annually. The initiative, launched by dms in 2007, recognises the efforts of all persons and organisations that contribute to education in the Cayman Islands. The first recipient of the award was Savannah Primary School PTA which used the funding to pay for new playground equipment.
Don Seymour, president of dms Organisation, emphasises that it is the investment in the education of children that is most paramount to the future of Cayman. ‘This award is part of our ongoing commitment to recognise education initiatives and provide them the support to succeed,’ he said.
‘Ms Clarke was a natural choice for me as she played a significant role in my education and in the education of so many of Cayman’s children. Ms Clarke has dedicated her life to children, steering Cayman’s youth in the right direction for over 40 years.’
The call for applicants for the 2008 award began in June with island-wide advertising and a publicity campaign titled 12,000 Reasons, which aimed to highlight the many reasons to invest in education in Cayman.
The JCA Committee carefully reviewed all applications submitted and narrowed the selection down to five finalists who were invited to give an oral presentation outlining and demonstrating how the five JCA criteria would be met by their proposed projects.
The five JCA criteria cover the sustainability and measurability of the project, the institution’s proven history in successful education projects, the contribution of the project to increased parental or community involvement in education and the promotion of excellence in education in the Cayman Islands, and its affiliation with a reputable educational institution.
Tanya Marie Dwight, literacy education specialist, explained how the decision process works in determining the award’s winner.
‘After each committee member indicates their numerical rating, an average score is determined for each component of the selection criteria. Those average scores are then combined to create an overall score for each project. Based on the final numerical score for each project, we were bale to designate the funds for this year’s award,’ she said.
The Joanna Clarke award committee consists of Ms Clarke, who acts as the committee’s chairperson, Mr. Seymour, Ms Dwight, Red Bay Primary School’s Literacy Coordinator Anne Briggs, President of Savannah Primary School’s PTA Mark Scotland and John Gray High School’s Reading Specialist Lydia Warren.
‘We were very pleased by the enthusiastic response that we received from the community,’ said Mr. Seymour. ‘This year we had a number of great applicants and even better finalists. John Gray High School had an exceptionally impressive initiative which we are confident will succeed and are honoured to support – congratulations to them in this achievement.’
‘I am truly honoured to be the namesake for this award and I am proud to serve on the committee. My passion has always been to enhance the education of Cayman’s children, as they represent the future of our islands,’ added Ms Clarke.
‘On behalf of the committee, I would like to sincerely thank all individuals and organisations for taking the time to submit their applications,’ Mr. Seymour said. ‘We appreciate all applicants’ efforts to improve the education of Cayman’s youth and encourage you to continue in your strides to make a difference – it takes a community effort. We encourage all of the local schools to apply for funding for the 2009 Joanna Clarke Excellence in Education award.’
For further information on the award, visit www.joannaclarke.ky.
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