One special teacher

SHE had always wanted to be a lawyer, but at 15 years old, after making the shocking discovery that her father — a street smart businessman — was unable to read, Ruthlyn James made a career u-turn which saw her becoming a teacher instead.

Today at barely 30, she is the founder and principal of the Adonijah Group of Schools located off Hagley Park Road, which comprises a kindergarten, a preparatory school, a junior high school, and a special education centre.

But long before undertaking this all-important venture of owning a school, the mother of three young sons spent a lot of time honing her teaching skills at a number of educational institutions. Although her first pupil was her father, she spent a lot of time tutoring younger students at the Ardenne High School, which she attended after leaving Immaculate Conception High. She also volunteered at the Deliverance Evangelistic Centre in Kingston, where she taught remedial classes under the Jamaica Foundation for Lifelong Learning programme.

At 19-years-old, she got her first real teaching job at the Yadar Kinder Preparatory School in Kingston. After leaving this institution, she went on to teach at least three other schools; one being the Hydel Group of schools, where she was instrumental in preparing grade six students for their GSAT examinations.

Her first opportunity to teach special needs children came when she went to teach at Zeneth Learning Centre in 2008.

“When I went there, it was basically closing, there was no one there running the school. The ministry had basically ordered the school closed, because the previous owner had passed away,” she said.

So in an effort to save the school, the young educator approached the Ministry of Education which gave advice for how she could gain ownership of the school. One of the stipulations, however, in going forward, was that she changed the name.

“What I was faced with was the fact that everybody there would have been without a job, including myself, and all of those children would have to be integrated into a regular primary system or into another school, so I saw it as an opportunity,” she said.

She not only changed the name to Adonijah, which means ‘Jehovah is Lord’, but she also moved the school to her family home off Hagley Park Road a year ago, and then moved her family into a rented property.

The school’s population comprises students from upper St Andrew households as well as those from the inner city. Its special education unit consists of students who suffer from Down’s Syndrome, autism, ADHD, cerebral palsy, dyslexia, and a host of other physical challenges.

“What we do here is that we do not attach a stigma. I don’t like to call them special, I call them gifted and unique, because no matter their inadequacies, they have a talent. So I hate to see where children are just shoved into an institution [where everyone has the same challenges]. They will never get to emulate anyone and say you know what, I can actually be rehabilitated,” she said.

Because of her hands-on approach, the teacher is always working, either giving advice, counselling or making provisions for the children under her care. In fact, unlike most teachers, she was unable to take maternity leave after giving birth to her son eight months ago. She laughs about the fact that her son started school at five days old, as she pointed to a crib that has been stationed in the corner of her office since his birth.

But the mother of three, the eldest of whom is eight, admits that it is not always easy to care for 60 children and be an effective mother and wife.

“Sometimes my children will say, ‘Mommy, remember that you are mommy too you know’. Sometimes I find my children calling me Ms James.”

Thankfully, her husband of 10 years — a police officer — has been extremely supportive. He not only encourages her to go on, but he also assists with the creation of teaching aids and charts for her classes. He has also taken on the job of school coach, as he tries to mentor the young men at the school over friendly matches.

It is this tight-knit relationship that continues to keep the family and school together, despite their current financial problems that threaten the continuation of classes at the institution come next school term.

Because of her inability to turn back a child in need, James has taken in scores of children over the past few months whose parents are unable to finance their education.

“I hate to see when children are sent home,” she said. “Because the only persons being hurt in that is the child.”

So the teacher, who finds her self at another defining juncture of her life, waits out this financial storm as she continues to do her part in ensuring the well-being of her students and children.

“I never knew that it was so difficult to be an entrepreneur in Jamaica because you always hear the dream stories. But if you don’t have a strong core, if you don’t have someone standing with you in the corner or standing in the corner for you, or if you are not connected to a divine source, then there is no way that you can go on,” she said.