THREE Jamaican educators are revelling in the learning opportunities from the 2024 Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) conference held in Washington, DC in March.

The trio — Rayon Simpson, principal of Belmont Academy; Franklin Burrell, department head and master teacher of chemistry at St Andrew High School for Girls; and IIene Cohall-Bailey, home economics teacher and department head at The Manning’s School — all returned with the same conclusion; the experience was enriching.

The 2024 conference was held under the theme ‘Igniting Minds. Igniting Progress’, and for Simpson, Burrell, and Cohall-Bailey, it did just that.

They attended the conference as part of their prize packages as the 2023 LASCO/Ministry of Education and Youth/Jamaica Teaching Council Principal of the Year; Teacher of the Year and Technical and Vocational Education and Training Teacher of the Year, respectively. Chief among the advantages of the conference were the valuable networking opportunities.

“At Belmont Academy, we will implement the new system in September in partnership with PowerSchool, one of the exhibitors at the conference. The system will revamp our school’s learning management and remote communication systems,” explained Simpson, who guides the 1,200 students enrolled at the centre of excellence in Westmoreland.

Burrell revealed that from June 4-6, he was able to take advantage of a partnership garnered from the conference.

“I engaged a company based in the United Kingdom, Citizen Developer HQ, to conduct a three-day boot camp in Jamaica, designed for both students and teachers. The camp had a deep dive into Microsoft Power Platform, which helped the participants explore the platform’s capabilities, and learn how to leverage its features to create innovative solutions including hands-on app development.

“This boot camp represents a valuable opportunity to enhance our school’s technological capabilities and foster a culture of innovation among our students and teachers. Students and teachers from other schools were invited and participants will be certified by Microsoft,” Burrell explained.

The sessions at ASCD were also very enlightening for the veteran educators, who, on average, attended 10 each.

For Burrell the session ‘Pedagogy before technology: Four elements for digital instructional design’ was particularly insightful.

“It highlighted the critical components that should be the foundation of any digital instructional design. These elements ensure that the integration of technology in education is pedagogically sound and effective.

“I am leading a project to design the digital curriculum for the next academic year. The focus is on ensuring pedagogical soundness before integrating technological tools, thereby enhancing the quality of digital instruction,” Burrell explained. “By integrating the valuable insights gained from these sessions, I am confident that these initiatives will lead to improved educational outcomes and a more dynamic and effective learning environment for our students.”

Cohall-Bailey recalled, “The session that resonated the most with me is the general session presented by former Principal Hamish Brewer. It was just excellent and I was really challenged. This session above all others has helped me to shape my legacy as an educator even more and I promised myself to leave the educational system better than I have found it.”

The three, who are from MOE regions 1, 4, and 6, left the conference with big ideas — to host an annual educational conference in Jamaica, potentially in partnership with LASCO.

“[With the] annual educational conference, we aim to bring together educators, students, and industry experts to share knowledge, discuss advancements in education, and collaborate on innovative educational practices,” Burrell explained.

Before and beyond the proposed conference, the educators also have plans to work more closely together.

“The LASCO ambassador programme has allowed me to rekindle my partnership and friendship with Franklin Burrell, who previously hosted online chemistry classes for my students during the COVID-19 pandemic,” Simpson revealed. “We are exploring possibilities of developing apps together.”

Burrell later shared that the apps will aim to provide innovative and interactive learning tools for use by students to improve their understanding and engagement in various subjects.

Cohall-Bailey said the work of this group of LASCO ambassadors has only just begun. She strongly believes that no other group of Principal and Teachers of the Year cohort has had the great synergy that they experienced together.

“We are excellent educators who will stick to the task and will continue to positively impact as we rise to conquer new frontiers,” she said.