Ada Mitchell’s educational philosophy is informed by the simple life of the 1950s Jamaica where she grew up in Askenish, Hanover.

There was no electricity, no running water, certainly none of the technology of contemporary Jamaica, but Mitchell’s achievements were not in anyway undermined.

“Children need responsibility, love, a firm hand,” she told the Observer West.

A past student of the Askenish All Age school, the young Mitchell won a full scholarship to Rusea’s high school which offered boarding facilities at the time. Her experience there convinced her that Jamaica’s education system could be enhanced with more boarding institutions.

“It (boarding school) provides an educational experience that is so much richer… If I had things my way I’d ensure that the system offered more boarding facilities,” she said.

Third in a line of four children – Desmond, Louis Spence Jnr and Cecil – for parents Louis and Beryl Spence, Mitchell entered the the Church Teachers’ College in Mandeville upon graduating from Rusea’s.

There she specialised in the Sciences and Physical Education.

In order to formalise her credentials as a teacher, she spent a year at the Green Island Secondary School before moving back to Rusea’s where she spent 34 years. In 2004 she took over from Green Island’s principal, Ansel Brown. Armed with a bachelor’s degree in Education which she earned from the University of the West Indies, she set about giving the physical environment of the school a woman’s touch, so to speak. Today a visit to the school in Hanover reveals a beautifully kept landscape, which Mitchell feels is more conducive to learning and to the enhancement of the self-esteem of the over 19,000 boys and girls attending the institution.

Ideally she’d like more space and to that end she’s looking into plans to build an auditorium so that the school, which operates on a double shift system can better accommodate its population.

In the meantime, she’s doing all she can to convince parents to raise the expectations they have of their children.

“We facilitate counselling sessions, meetings, all forms of interaction to get this message across because we believe that it is important for children and parents to believe in their ability to achieve,” she said.