Early-childhood teachers awarded scholarships
IN A continuing effort to promote accessible and quality early-childhood education, the National Baking Company Foundation has awarded 10 Little Leaders Teacher Scholarships and three grants totalling $5,631,153 to dedicated teachers across the country.
This year’s successful candidates are: Primrose Phillips, Nichole BlairThomas, Lucan Moore, Kimberely Farquharson, Sharlene Hutchinson Smith, Pauletta Smith, and Kemonia Edie, with Kemaletta Campbell, Keniesha Gottshalk, and Kardia WalkerHines being the top-three awardees, receiving full scholarships in addition to a laptop each.
In addition to covering tuition, the scholarships also include a monthly stipend of $18,000 for the school year, and an annual book grant of $5,000, which will support teachers in continuing their studies and improving their skill set.
The foundation recently visited the schools of the top-three awardees to surprise them with the news of their scholarships. Christine Scott-Brown, executive director of the foundation, presented each of them with a cheque, basket of National products and a laptop.
IMPRESSIVE POOL OF APPLICANTS
“This year we received a strong pool of applicants and were impressed with the level of dedication these teachers have displayed in their classrooms and communities. The selected applicants demonstrated great devotion to their young students; they are all so deserving of this opportunity to extend their studies,” said Scott-Brown.
Upon hearing the good news, Keneshia Gottshalk, who is attending Church Teachers’ College in Mandeville, Manchester, could not hide her excitement. She said that the scholarship will “push [her] towards [her] dream of continuing to be an excellent teacher, a passionate educator, and [will] get the students to where they need to go so they can achieve their dreams”.
The funding provides a double benefit, as both teachers and students will have the opportunity to realise their full potential through greater access to education.
Kardia Walker-Hines, another of the top-three scholarship recipients at Church Teachers’ College, echoed this sentiment, adding that teachers “can’t just be stuck in one area; [they] need to keep learning and improving.’’
Without the financial assistance, many of the teachers said that they would be unable to begin classes this semester.
Applicants submitted a personal essay, along with the requisite forms, to fulfil the application requirements. A panel of four persons reviewed the submissions and scored applicants based on personality and awareness, career motivation, teaching and learning, service to others, as well as academics and need. This is the foundation’s second year of the Little Leaders Teacher Scholarship programme.