Senator Genevieve Whitaker attends St. Thomas-St. John District EAA Annual Conference

Senator Genevieve Whitaker attended the St. Thomas-St. John District Educational Administrators’ Association (EAA) annual conference, which was held at Walker’s by the Sea on October 17, 2022. The theme for this year’s conference was Standardizing Accountability. The conference brings public education officials together for strong creative and innovative leadership from those most poised to take on the challenge. Senator Whitaker provided remarks that focused on the vision of the department with specific emphasis on the accountability measures being put in place to ensure students are in an environment with superior teaching, learning, and leadership.

For the last five years, there have been some challenges, which required us as leaders to assess our actions regarding the way we operate within our schools. Therefore, it’s important we come together to discuss accountability measures to ensure that we provide superior teaching, learning, and leadership. Governor Albert Bryan was in attendance and provided remarks thanking the teachers of the Virgin Islands, spoke about resources and autonomy, and mentioned that he is accessible to discuss anything in further detail. Commissioner Nominee Dione Wells-Hedrington also shared her thoughts regarding safety in the schools. The Commissioner spoke of the $250K per school funding as Governor Bryan announced at the AFT Local 1826 (St. Croix Union) TEACH event on St. Croix, the facilities master plan, and renovations of our schools. During the conference, sessions were held on Elementary Promotion Policy. Amongst the group, the revision for the 9-12 Graduation requirements was discussed, as well as the Board of Education policy for instance, that a child can only be held back once/retained: 1st to 6th grade. Senator Whitaker thanks EAA President Carter Farrow and his leadership team for organizing this conference as we move forward with reviving the Virgin Islands Education system.

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