The Erdiston Teachers’ Training College has announced its top students preceding this year’s graduation ceremony scheduled for Saturday, May 17, at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre.
The seven top students (five females and two males) are as follows:
- Shaunette Small – Postgraduate Diploma in Educational Leadership
- Richelle Vaughan – Diploma in Education (Primary)
- Krystal Byer – Technical and Vocational Teachers’ Training Programme (Adult Education)
- Shamel Edwards – Bachelors in Education (Primary)
- Nicole Lynch – Postgraduate Diploma in Special Education
- Keandre Doughty – In-Service Certificate (Physical Education)
- Rollinson Wiggins -Postgraduate Diploma in Education (Secondary)
In an interview, valedictorian Shaunette Small shared that she pursued her Postgraduate Diploma in Educational Leadership after being promoted as a Senior Teacher at the Daryll Jordan Secondary school.
“I believe it was necessary for me to get some of the skills, especially communication and interacting with staff, in order to benefit the students. So, my main goal was that the course would help me to get along with the teachers and to show me how to work with them.
“I’m a hard worker. I believe in lifelong learning. I love to study. Before coming to Erdiston Teachers’ Training College, I heard a lot of teachers in the past speak about their experiences and how they would not come back, and I am going to tell you some of those teachers were sitting at my table in the programme, and they have all changed their minds.”
The valedictorian shared that the tutors were caring and supportive and taught her and her colleagues to realise that all teachers in the classroom are leaders, not only the principal. She added: “As long as you stand before children and you want to make a change, you are a leader.”
Ms. Small continued: “As we move on with our transformation in education, it is important that whatever we do in the classroom, we sit back, and we look. How are the children learning? Are we really making a difference in the classroom?
“All children can learn, and they are there to learn, and it is our duty as educators to ensure that whatever we do is for the benefit of the children and not for ourselves.”
She explained that children who are treated with love, and shown support, will succeed. “In every child…in each child, there is something positive, but you have to search for it. I endorse everything that the education system stands for. There is need for a transformation, but it’s up to us, the leaders, the teachers and the stakeholders to ensure that our children, at the end of the day, will benefit and succeed as much as they can.
“We are preparing children to be global leaders wherever they go, and it is up to us to ensure that at the end of the day we can sit back and say, I am pleased; I am proud of what I did because those will be the legacy that we have for the future,” Ms. Small stated. (PR/GIS)
Caption: Outstanding students of the Erdiston Teachers’ Training College’s 2025 graduating class (from left to right)Valedictorian Shaunette Small; Shamel Edwards; Richelle Vaughan; Krystal Byer; Keandre Doughty; and Rollinson Wiggins. Missing is Nicole Lynch.
