Western Bureau: Rudolf Brown, school principal of Lowe River in Trelawny, has dedicated over three decades of his life to the teaching profession, always striving to make a difference in the schools he has served and to his community.

Recently, the 55-year-old was awarded the Governor General’s Achievement Award, attesting to his successes over the years, despite his humble beginning.

“I am very excited about the award. You are not nominated by yourself, but by others looking on. And so you just feel good that you are doing something that has caused others to openly admire what you have been doing and to say that you are worthy of getting the award,” Brown told the Observer in a recent interview.

After graduating from the Mico Teachers’ College, Brown’s first teaching assignment was at Baillieston Elementary. From there he moved on to teach at Mount Olivet Elementary and later, Knox College. In 1974 he made yet another career move to the Lowe River All-Age School, where he served as principal up to 1999.

During those 25 years at Lowe River All-Age, Brown was able to facilitate the improvement of the school’s infrastructure and its academic reputation and increase the student population.

According to him, when he went there, the infrastructure and academic reputation of the school were in such dire need of improvement that parents had begun to transfer their children to other schools.

“So I rallied the community and we were able to get the classrooms (which were originally open-air rooms) enclosed. I believe very strongly that schools belong to the community and they must see to it that they stay in good physical condition,” Brown added.

He later turned his attention to improving academic performance among students at the school. Brown pointed out for example, that under his leadership, the number of students who were able to pass the Common Entrance Examinations rose from three in 1974, to 58 by 1985.

“The rejoicing was tremendous,” he recalled. Today, there are approximately 1,200 students enrolled in that institution, up from 500 in 1974.

These days, Brown has a new passion. At the Albert Town High School where he currently serves as both principal and teacher, he has set for himself new goals, all of which are geared at improving that institution in the same way he did the Lowe River All-Age School.

For example, Brown and his staff have developed a five-year plan for the school, and since last January they have raised close to $1 million to help finance it. And his hope is that by middle of next year, they would have raised an additional $2 million through their fund-raising activities.

The first order of business, Brown said, will be the construction of 12 additional classrooms in order to eliminate the need for the present shift system, which he said offers little opportunity for students to engage in extra-curricular school activities.

They will also seek to improve the school’s academic rating and make computers available to all members of the administrative and academic departments. The fencing of the school grounds to improve student and staff security is also on the agenda, as well as the expansion of their sporting facilities.

In addition to his passion for his school, Brown has many other interests.

As a practising Christian, he has occupied a long list of leadership positions within the United Church of Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. He currently serves as president of the South Trelawny Schools Association, and the Trelawny Principals Association. He also heads the Wait-A-Bit Police Community Consultative Committee and he is Chairman of the South Trelawny Community Development Fund.

His achievements today have been hard won, but he looks upon the challenges of yesteryear with appreciation and is proud of where he has been.

Brown, a Clarendon native, was born in 1946 into a challenging family situation. One of eight children, Brown knew he had to learn to be self-sufficient from very early on. He had always dreamed of becoming a teacher, but with seven other siblings, there was just not enough money to go around. Undeterred by this handicap, Brown managed to finance his own education at the Mico Teachers’ College where he received his early training. Upon graduation, with his father recently deceased, he had to help finance the education of his younger siblings and help finance the completion of his mother’s home. And by the time he had got his mother’s house complete, and his siblings through school, Brown had to turn his attention, emotionally and financially, to his new wife and children.

The result was that while he was proud of the sacrifices of those years, he was not able to secure for himself a first degree in Educational Administration until the age of 37.

But since that time, he and his wife have been able to purchase their own home and have seen two of their three children through the University of the West Indies. The youngest is now in her second year of study there.

And after all the challenges he has met and overcome, Brown issued a call for today’s youth to make use of every educational opportunity available to them. And he said poverty and the accompanying hardships were no deterrents to success.

“There are many things I would like to say to young people. One is that those who are passing through institutions of learning should try and remember that they pass this way but once. So they should make use of every opportunity and skills, which they are exposed to,” he said.

“Another thing is that nowadays so many young people are talking about being poor and so they give up easily without trying. But my message is that any work can help any youngster to overcome poverty. No job is too menial. Start from the bottom and work your way up to the top.”