From Principal of the Year Orville Richards, intent on making his school Jamaica’s leading technical institution, to Teacher of the Year Dorette Rhoden Henry and TVET Teacher of the Year Gavin DeRizzo, shaping young minds through maths and construction, respectively, Wednesday’s awards ceremony underscored that nation-building still begins in the classroom.

That message came into sharp focus at the LASCO/Ministry of Education, Skills, Youth and Information’s 2025 Principal and Teacher of the Year Awards Ceremony held at Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston.

The recognition was not simply for academic performance, but for the ways in which the three educators are helping to transform schools, motivate students, and prepare young Jamaicans for life beyond the classroom.

Richards, principal of St Mary Technical High School, said the honour of being crowned Principal of the Year represented far more than individual achievement.

“This award represents more than just an award to the principal, it is an award for the entire St Mary Technical family. I give a big shout-out to all my teachers; they work tirelessly, they go above and beyond; my students, I love them so much; and of course my board, my parents, and the region two family, so this award is for the entire St Mary Technical family,” he said.

That philosophy appears to be reflected in the school’s recent progress. Richards, a St Mary native with more than 23 years’ experience in education and a background in information technology and accounting, has helped to steer the school through significant improvement.

Under his leadership, St Mary Technical High moved from a ‘satisfactory’ to a ‘good’ rating in the National Education Inspectorate 2024 rankings.

But Richards made clear that his ambition goes beyond inspection results or even school pride. At the centre of his leadership is a push to make St Mary Technical High a place where students are equipped both academically and practically.

“We have done a lot of infrastructure work, we have overhauled a lot of things, we have introduced a lot of ICT (information and communication technology). We have ensured that our mandate, which is to become the premier TVET (technical and vocational education and training) secondary institution in Jamaica, so we are driving a lot of skills training certification. We still do well at the traditional areas but we ensure that every child who reaches Grade 11 must sit external exams, they must do skills training, they must do something so they don’t leave empty-handed, so we cater for every single child,” he said.

That emphasis on making school more inclusive and relevant was a recurring thread among the awardees.

For Rhoden Henry, an experienced mathematics teacher at DeCarteret College and head of the school’s information technology department, effective teaching begins not with the syllabus, but with understanding the student. Her approach, shaped by more than three decades in both primary and secondary education, is grounded in the belief that children learn differently and that teachers must first understand what they are bringing into the classroom.

“The first thing is that I try to get to know my students, know a little about their background, know their interest in the subject, and all of that, and then you can take it from there because students come to us with various experiences. We just come and we see a student and we think, ‘Oh well’, but no, everything goes into what they are able to take from a lesson,” Rhoden Henry said.

That mindset, she expressed, has shaped the way she teaches both information technology and mathematics, two subjects that many students often approach with anxiety or self-doubt. Rather than treating maths as abstract or inaccessible, Rhoden Henry said she works to show students how deeply it is woven into everyday life.

“There’s this thing I do with my students; it’s rounding off. So they’ll tell me, ‘But miss, we leave a zero but it’s not important’. So I’ll tell them, give me all the zeros from your lunch money and I will give you back the change. Because, if you have $1,000 and I take all the zeros, you only have $1 left. So it’s things like that I do to just point out the importance of things, and I try to tell them, even if you might think the subject itself is not important, find one aspect of your life that does not involve maths and I will pay you,” she said.

That same focus on real-world preparation also came through in the work of DeRizzo, the TVET Teacher of the Year, who teaches building technology construction and technical drawing at Vauxhall High School.

In a country where policymakers have been placing increasing emphasis on skills development, employability and technical training, DeRizzo’s award highlighted the expanding role of practical education in Jamaica’s secondary school system.

He argued that his subject is central to Jamaica’s future, particularly as construction, infrastructure, and climate resilience become more pressing national priorities. As such, he regularly impresses that reality upon his students to encourage them to take the skill seriously.

“I would tell them that you are able to see that Jamaica is transforming before our very eyes with a lot of construction taking place — construction that is expected to be resilient in the face of climate change; and, you know, construction that is expected to fulfil the aesthetic appeal that people expect of the spaces that are being constructed,” he said.

“I believe that construction is important. It is every Jamaican’s dream to own a home and I know that for that dream to become a reality construction is important, and that is why I try as best as possible in my own little space to impart knowledge in this area, both at the secondary and tertiary levels, that will, of course, seek to better this sector,” DeRizzo added.

Like Richards and Rhoden Henry, DeRizzo also framed his teaching as something that must extend beyond textbooks and theory. A self-described pragmatist, he said he deliberately uses practical examples in class so that students can see how what they are learning applies to real life.

That practical focus is increasingly significant as Jamaica continues to place more policy and institutional attention on technical and vocational pathways, particularly amid labour market demands for certified skills and stronger school-to-work transitions.

Yet, for all the different subjects they teach and the varied school environments they represent, the three educators appeared to share a common philosophy: that education is not merely about instruction, but about unlocking possibility.

Richards put it in the language of responsibility, describing educators as central to shaping the country’s future.

“We are where the rubber hits the road in terms of nation-building. We have to nurture children, we have to teach them no matter how bad they are, we have to show them direction. That is how critical we are as educators, not only as a principal but as a person. Our responsibility is to mould lives so we are not only teaching, we are moulding lives, we are showing them that that opportunity exists and this is how they can use that opportunity,” he said.