MONTEGO BAY, St James

Montego Bay educator Therisa Cherian, who last year took over as principal of the Mount Alvernia High School for girls, is inviting the institution’s past students to contribute to its continued development.

“We have lots of plans but if the environment continues as it is now, it is just not possible to do what we want to without the kind assistance of past students,” she told the OBSERVER WEST.

Cherian who was officially welcomed as the new head of the 88-year-old institution last week, said she would be expecting parents to play a key role in the development of the school and their children.

“The parental support that many students lack is the reason they don’t achieve their full potential. In the whole scheme of things the parental support system is not being spoken to,” she said.

Another of her stated missions is to lift the academic standard of the school.

This is one of the prominent high schools and has been doing very well. I just want to step it up a little,” she noted.

A biology teacher with over 27 years classroom experience, Cherian, who was most recently vice-principal at Montego Bay High School, was educated in India where she completed her graduate and undergraduate degrees in Botany, Zoology and Chemistry.

Her advent into Mount Alvernia is somewhat a culmination of a family tradition, as according to the Brunei native, four of her family members, including her husband Kurian, have taught there.