Aid in Action

Principal of the Year

Private Sector Recognizes Primary School Principal for Excellence in Teaching

Kingston, Jamaica | Monday, January 07, 2008

Oniel Ankle of the Green Park Primary and Junior High School in Clarendon, Jamaica, is the 2007-08 Principal of the Year.  Mr. Ankle was selected as the top principal in the annual Principal and Teacher of the Year Awards, organized and sponsored by the prominent local private sector company, LASCO.Green Park Primary is one of the primary schools supported by the USAID Expanding Educational Horizons Project (EEH).

Mr. Ankle acknowledged that he grew up in the inner-city under difficult circumstances.  He dedicated his Principal of the Year Award “to all those who will not allow their difficult situation to become their destiny.”

 “We have a difficult task to turn around those who are our charges,” he said, “but we will continue to inspire the students into their greatness.”  

The Teacher and Principal of the Year Awards Programme rewards excellence in the teaching profession. Competition entrants were judged on their professional development, commitment to education, creative leadership and community involvement. Mr. Ankle received a trophy, a cash prize and an all-expense paid trip to the annual conference of the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development in Louisiana, New Orleans, United States. This is the second consecutive year that a teacher from an EEH Project school has had success in these awards. A teacher from the Porus Primary School in Manchester received the award for 2006-2007. 

“Working with the EEH Project has been fantastic. It has helped our institution to boast a better literacy rate compared to four years ago. Our growth in literacy and numeracy and the use of technology to stimulate our students has certainly set the foundation for me being selected as LASCO Principal of the year. “