KINGSTON, Jamaica – Former principal of the Denham Town High School and member of the executive of the Jamaica Teachers Association (JTA), Dr Clover Thompson Gordon, died at her home in Florida on Sunday.

Dr. Thompson Gordon was also a past Executive Director of the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC), vice-president of the lay magistrates association, electoral returning officer for Western Kingston, director of the Mel Nathan Institute and was the 2002 Lasco/Jamaica Teachers Association (JTA) Teacher of the Year.

Thompson Gordon was principal of the Content Gap Primary School 1968-70; acting Managing Director, Metropolitan Parks & Garden in 1986; and Executive Director, Jamaica Cultural Development Commission, 1984-89.

She was principal of the Denham Town Primary School, 1971-90 and principal of the Denham Town High School 1990-94 and held various positions in the JTA between 1968 and 1993.

She was founder of the Association of Friends and Families Against Substance Abusers – AFAFOSA, which was launched in Jamaica in 2002.

Opposition spokesperson on Information, Culture, Sports and Gender Affairs, Olivia “Babsy” Grange, yesterday expressed sorrow at the death of Thompson Gordon, whom she recalled as a pioneer in the education of youths from the West Kingston community.

She recalled that Dr Thompson Gordon was the fourth teacher to be awarded the Lasco/JTA Teacher of the Year award, in 2002.

“As a principal, she was a disciplinarian who demanded that her teachers set examples for the students to follow. She always felt that teachers should be role models and mentors to the children they teach,” Grange said.

She added that Dr Thompson Gordon not only set very high standards for the teachers and students at Denham Town High, but during her 20-odd years at the school it emerged as one of the top high schools in the Jamaica Festival, excelling in dance, music, singing, speech and drama.