When the renowned Teacher Gloria Omololu Institute opens its doors come September 2005 it will commence its 11th year of dedicated, professional and caring service to the children of this island.

Colville Petty

The Institute, the brainchild of Dr Oluwakemi M Linda Banks, a clinical psychologist and former teacher, had its beginning in September 1994. It had a roll of forty-five students who were placed in three classes: two preschool and one primary. From its inception the Institute impacted education in Anguilla in a significant way. Its innovative curriculum and method of delivering education impressed many parents who gave it their strong support. Thus by the end of its fifth year of operation the Institute had seven grades: five primary and two preschool. Further, it had earned a reputation of delivering a high standard of education and training.

In September 2004, the Institute added two new initiatives to its educational programme. One was the Playschool/Day Care Service which allows children to enter the Institute as early as one and a half years old. The other was a Secondary Education programme, undertaken in the seventh and eighth grades, where children could stay until age fourteen before transferring to Form Three of the Albena Lake-Hodge Comprehensive School (ALHCS) to continue their education.

The Teacher Gloria Omololu Institute brought a new dimension – a new freshness – to the quality of education in Anguilla. It focused not only on the core curriculum subjects common to all of our schools. It went beyond that because of its philosophy of fostering the holistic development of its students on several different levels viz. “moral, spiritual, physical, intellectual, emotional and psychosocial.” To put it in simple English, the Institute had to go beyond the core curriculum because its emphasis was on the total development of children.

In furtherance of its holistic development philosophy, a hallmark of the Institute’s innovative curriculum was the inclusion, with its ambit, of several critical components: multicultural education, multilingual competence, creative and expressive skills and environmental awareness. The multicultural element of its curriculum is aimed at preparing children for life in a multicultural world, including Anguilla which is fast becoming a multicultural society.

It is delivered in a way which involves children, teachers, parents and the wider community, all sharing experiences and information through a variety of forms including discussions, exhibits, artwork, song, dance and drama. This kind of cross-cultural activity is strengthened through, firstly, the celebrations of international events like “Canada Day, Jamaica Independence Day, African Liberation Day, Guyana Independence Day, Black History Month, Martin Luther King’s birthday, Anguilla Day . . .” Secondly, it is strengthened through a programme which twins each class with a different region of the world. This involves exchange visits, letter writing and various forms of cultural exchanges.

As regards the multilingual component of the curriculum, the Institute has in place a foreign language programme with a good track record. It (the Institute) had long recognised that research had shown that the mastery of a second language is more easily achieved when children are exposed to it at an early age. Thus Spanish is taught to all students including preschoolers (at the age of 3). The teaching of French begins in fourth grade. The fact that foreign languages are not taught in our government primary schools means that when Omololu’s students go to the ALHCS, where they are taught, they have a head start over children from the other schools.

An important element of the Institute’s curriculum, which needs to be highlighted, is its systematic programme for the development of the creative and expressive skills of children. These skills are being developed through a programme of art, dance, music, drama, storytelling, poetry and writing. And it has been a success. It was in 1999 that I attended one of the Institute’s graduation ceremonies, held at St Mary’s Anglican Church, and I recall being most impressed. The standard of presentations from the young children was astonishing. Simply great! But most commendable was the fact that many of the items of poetry, song and dance which they rendered were their own compositions. The chairman of the ceremony was no ‘Honourable this’ or ‘Honourable that’. Not at all. The ceremony was chaired by two students, a girl and a boy (both around eight years). They did an excellent job.

I should add that it is because of the creative skills programme that the Institute’s students have been winning prizes for their literary work (stories, poetry and so on), and have been displaying high quality items at art and crafts exhibitions.

In keeping with its philosophy of fostering the holistic growth of its students, the Institute also has a vibrant physical and sports development programme. Its students’ performance in several sports meetings is testament to its success. They continue to excel in athletics, with creditable performances in the annual primary schools Sports Day activities. And then there is the boys’ football team holding their own. Actually, they won the 2001 NBA football tournament for primary schools.

The Institute’s physical/sports programme includes swimming in which children “have begun to gain certification at various levels of the Olympic Way.” Plans are on the drawing board for the construction of an Olympic size swimming pool which could serve both the school and the community.

The students are also being exposed to golf. Those in grades six, seven and eight have been receiving professional lessons and are making good progress.

Omololu’s commitment to the overall development of its students is indeed profound. It even has an environmental programme through which students, from an early age, develop an appreciation of the importance of the natural and social environment and of the need to protect and enhance it. That accounts, in part, for their enthusiasm in participating in the annual Flower and Garden Show and in the VETO THE MOSQUITO campaign competition which they won during the three years of its existence.

It is clear from all that I have written thus far that the Institute’s focus on an all-embracing curriculum is realising great dividends. These dividends are also reflected in the academic achievements of its students as they continue their secondary education at the ALHCS. For example, out of the sixteen Campus B students honoured for their academic excellence, at the 2002 Speech Night Awards ceremony, eight of them had received their primary education at Omololu.

Omololu’s students had again exhibited their academic prowess in the 2002 Test of Standards for primary school students. Their average marks gained “exceed[ed] the national average by several percentage points.” It is not surprising, therefore, that many of them are making it on Principal’s Honour Roll and that of the Deputy Principal as well. Omololu had provided them with a sound foundation on which they could build.

It is not in dispute, and could never be in dispute, that the Teacher Gloria Omololu Institute has had an enormous impact on the quality of our education and on the quality of students our education system produces. The Institute has been steadfast in its commitment to the creation of a climate of learning integral to which was a climate of excellence. It does not permit mediocrity and prepares children to produce of their best always.

Academic achievements aside, it is noteworthy that in these times when anti-social behaviour among our young people is a matter of grave concern, the behaviour of Omololu’s students is exemplary. When it comes to well-disciplined children, hats off to Omololu. It is an oasis of good nurturing in a desert of indiscipline in which some of our schools have become bogged down.

The discipline at Omololu is exemplary because, firstly, the Institute created an atmosphere in which its students feel loved and valued. Secondly, they are always supervised. There is early morning supervision, playground supervision, lunch-hour supervision and after school supervision. Thirdly, the Institute conducts a weekly session aimed at helping students internalise values, morals and attitudes which contribute to their healthy growth as productive and law-abiding citizens. Some of the values and morals include good manners, respect for the elderly and love thy neighbour. This session also deals with conflict resolution – “the passing on of constructive ways of resolving conflicts.” Fourthly, it conducts a Super Child of the Week programme in which the winner is given a certificate listing the attributes for which he or she was commended by his or her classmates.

Omololu has brought forth good fruit. It has produced a host of well-rounded, responsible and mentally alert young people who have given us much hope of a more disciplined and peaceful society. However, as the Institute continues to serve us, it is facing some challenges, mainly financial, which threaten its survival. But it has done so much good for the youth of this island that we cannot afford to see it die. It is incumbent on all of us to ensure its survival. Anguilla would be a lot poorer without it.

It is in recognition of the Institute’s invaluable contribution to Anguilla, and of its capacity to make further contributions, that our Government has stretched forth a helping hand by leasing it three acres of land on which to put a permanent school building. It is now for parents, and the wider Anguillian community, to follow Government’s lead in support of an outstanding children’s institution.

Of course, there will be increased fees, but the price of a good education has always been high. The price of failure to provide one is much higher. To use a well-known phrase, “If you think education is expensive, try ignorance.” And we would be definitely trying ignorance if we were to turn our backs on the Teacher Gloria Omololu Institute, an important cornerstone of our education system. Without Omololu the system’s foundation would be considerably weakened, to the detriment of Anguillian society. All the more reason why we have an obligation to support it both financially and morally.

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