Marcus Garvey Tech in top 10 World’s Best School for overcoming adversity
MARCUS GARVEY Technical High School has been shortlisted by T4 Education in the top 10 list of World’s Best School Prizes in the category Overcoming Adversity, according to the principal, Anniona Jones.
In the Overcoming Adversity category, the “prize recognises schools that, while facing challenges and obstacles, support and develop children in the kinds of socio-emotional skills to ensure their personal growth and of the school as a community”.
In recent years, Marcus Garvey Technical has moved from being labelled a failed school to one that has set record CSEC examination passes.
“Our school being shortlisted in the top 10 in the Overcoming Adversity category marks a great achievement for a team that has demonstrated great grit and resilience, ”Jones posted. “We are elated at the prospect of inspiring other schools around the world that may also be faced with tough challenges.”
In a letter to Education Minister Fayval Williams, founder and CEO of T4 Education Vikas Pota said the World’s Best School Prizes “shine a spotlight on schools whose principals, teachers, and communities have demonstrated exemplary leadership and innovation to improve the education of their students in the shadow of a global pandemic”.
WORLD EDUCATION WEEK IN OCTOBER
As one of the top 10 schools, Marcus Garvey Technical is to take part in World Education Week in October, the largest global school online celebration.
Joining Marcus Garvey on the top 10 shortlisted are schools from continental Africa, Australia, India and Malaysia.
Apart from overcoming adversity, other categories that schools have entered are community collaboration, environmental action, innovation, and supporting healthy lives.
The event is held under the auspices of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) programme and has US$250,000 in total prize, with the winning school in each of the five categories collecting US$50,000 to keep improving their work and strengthen their school and community.
The top 10 schools in the overcoming adversity category are: Amani School for Refugees, Kakuma, Kenya; Best Intellectuals Model School, Aba Abia State, Nigeria; Marcus Garvey Technical High School, St Ann’s Bay, Jamaica; Pinelands North Primary School, Cape Town, South Africa; Project Shelter Wakadogo, Gulu, Uganada; Samaritan Mission School (High), Howrah, India; SMK Kampong Jawa, Selangor, Malaysia; St Edward’s Primary School, Tamworth, Australia; The Evandro Ferreira dos Santos Elementary School, Cabrobo, Brazil; and West End Primary, Mitchells Plain, South Africa.