LASCO Principal of the Year, O'Neil Ankle (left), and Joan Davis-Williams, Teacher of the Year, pose with their trophies at the Jamaica Pegasus hotel on Monday. - file

They were both told that they would not have made it in education, but O'Neil Ankle and Joan Davis-Williams proved the doubters wrong and were on Monday presented with LASCO/Ministry of Education Teacher and Principal of the Year Awards for sterling contribution to education.

O'Neil Ankle, principal of Green Park Primary and Junior High in Clarendon, and Joan Davis-Williams, master teacher at Ardenne High School, St. Andrew, said they were elated to have been given the prestigious awards.

"Upon leaving high school in the '80s, I did not know that this little black boy who was born in Jones Town and grew up in Papine would one day walk among the movers and shakers of this country, not when many thought I would not have turned out to be anything good in life," Mr. Ankle told the gathering at Jamaica Pegasus hotel, New Kingston.

Period of transformation

He said he was presented with the award at a time when the education system is going through a period of transformation and where the monster of crime and violence, especially in schools, is attempting to cripple and erode the gains educators have made.

"So I accept this award not only representing my educated friends but those who have come from the bowels of deprivation and those who will not allow their situation to become their destination," said Mr. Ankle.

The principal, who is in his early 40s and who has been at the helm of his institution for four years, said going beyond the call of duty has contributed to his success as Principal of the Year.

"When you find a principal who after school ensures that the children clear the road by 6:00 p.m., then you understand (the reason why I was successful)," Mr. Ankle told The Gleaner.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Davis-Williams said this award was one of the best honours that could be given to a teacher.

Excited

"I am excited. I think this is the icing on the cake being a master teacher and now Teacher of the Year," the human resource development coordinator at Ardenne said.

A teacher at Ardenne for 28 years, Mrs. Davis-Williams said she always wanted to become an educator but was told that she would not have made it.

"And I wanted to prove them wrong," said 53-year-old Mrs. Davis-Williams, who has contributed more than 30 years to education.

Mr. Ankle and Mrs. Davis-Williams each received $100,000, a trophy, LASCO gift packages, spa packages and an expense-paid trip to the annual conference of the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development in the United States.

In his remarks, Lascelles Chin, chairman of LASCO, told the teachers they were all winners and were making an indelible mark on the teaching profession and the lives of thousands of Jamaicans.