Can you tell me a little bit about yourself and your relationship with the school?
I have been an educator here at St. Martin's for 32 years. I started out as a very young woman, and now I'm approaching the age of retirement. And so it's been a journey because during the experience, I've had to go through a lot, I've contributed a lot, as well, to the education system here.
How long have you been in the principal role?
The principal role? Since 2020. So this year is three years.
Can you kind of describe what that means as a principal, what your responsibilities are?
The responsibilities as a principal - and an administrative principal, I will say - and so it entails much more than just monitoring and supervising. It also entails getting the administrative parts of the schools - that entails the jobs that are required - which also includes working on bills and getting that accomplished as well. I work closely with the teachers. We have a very good relationship here with myself and my two administrators, that is Mrs. Encalada and Mrs. Tillett.
What we have done to make life easier is we have divided the school up into 3. So I am responsible for the upper division, standard 5 and 6, and for the preschool. Mrs. Tillett is responsible for standard 3 and 4, and Mrs. Encalada - since she's working with the literacy program - she works primarily with the infant level teachers. And that is how we operate at this time. And it makes life so much easier because then the focus is not so much on trying to get everything done, and we can just focus more on working with those levels that we are assigned and doing administrative work as well.
Right. I just want to make sure I understand. Before you were principal, you were teaching here for a long time?
Yes, I was a teacher. I was a teacher, and I became vice principal in 2008. I was a teacher for some years and then became vice principal in 2008, and then in 2020, I became the principal. So, as I said, it has been a journey from a teacher to a vice principal and now to a principal.
Right. You've been [here] for a really long time, so I'd love to hear what changes you've seen in this school, either positive or negative or anything.
Okay. One of the changes that I have - there are many changes that have occurred over the years. But the main one that I can definitely put my hand on at this time is parental involvement. We are not there yet, but over the years I have seen parents and their general interest in the child's education. That has changed over the years. And it's a positive because we know the importance [of] education and I'm glad that parents are seeing that. In the past, here in Belize, students would have graduated from the primary school and they could have went on to join the military, the Belize Defense Force, or even the police force. But now it has changed. For anyone to become an employee, you must have a secondary education, a high school education, and further - a junior college education. And so now I see more parents pushing for their children to get into school and to further their education. That has been a big change over the years. Many of our children go as far as - I believe in the United States is grade 8 - in Belize is Standard 6 - and that's it. They won't go any further. But over the years we've seen, even the government has made some changes in the sense that children who are living here on the south side, they are given the opportunity to attend a high school for free. And that wasn't the way it was. Parents had to actually pay to get their children in school. And because they weren't financially stable to afford to send their children to school, the primary education was the highest level of education that most of the children achieved. And so now we're seeing more - we actually have graduates who go on to further their education. And that's definitely a plus for our society.
I'm interested in hearing about the changes that you've seen from COVID, either related to parental involvement or anything else.
Since COVID - the changes I have seen since COVID is school. Getting children back in school. That was the biggest change. Parents wanted the children to be back in school for the simple reason - we have a feeding program here, and we feed over 100 children every day. During COVID, there were some funds allotted to the school where those parents could have benefited from a grocery bag of food items. But when the children are here at school, they are fed. And so having the feeding program here really has helped a lot of families. So the children come to school, they get their meals, and they are able to function in the classroom. That's one thing that I've seen that parents have really appreciated over time.
Another thing that not only parents, but teachers as well, is that we now have Internet access here at school. And that was forced upon us because of COVID. We had to do distance learning for the most part. It started - it was a rough start simply because parents didn't have the device. Children were not privy to access. And so it was very difficult. And what we had to do was learning packages. But we offered both learning packages and we offer the online support when the school had access.
We found out that the learning packages, along with the online support, benefited some children. The ones who didn't have it were at a disadvantage because they did not receive that support. And we had parents coming in saying, "We are not familiar." As I said before, I deal with primarily the upper division. And so parents would come in and complain, "We are not familiar with the modern math." And so they were unable to help their children to get their assignments done. So we were overjoyed when we got the go-ahead to open school and have children come in. We start by phasing those children in, we start by getting those children that didn't have access, they were the first ones to come in. And eventually we open up and we are able to give them that support. We still have a few children who are lagging behind, but our teachers, we try our best to work with them.
Those are all, you know, really positive changes. But I really want to hear from you what you think is working, and also where you think there has to be improvement. Over your time here, and especially with COVID, have you seen any negative changes, or things that you think especially are more of an issue now than they were before?
As I said before, there are some children who have academic deficiency brought on by COVID. Because while we had some children picking up the packages - and of course we had some doing some online session - there were some children who were not doing anything. And those are the students, or the children, who are not getting ahead now. They are not at that benchmark that they should be. As a matter of fact - it's the reality - they are two years behind. Because they only returned to school when we open our doors for face-to-face learning. During that two year span, they were not here. They were visibly absent and they did not participate in any of the activities that we provided for them. And so just that lack of academics, that is what is keeping some children behind at this time.
As I said, parental support has improved. We have more parents who are interested. Honestly, there are some parents that we would like to see and have not seen. I guess that's - where do we go? But we here at St. Martin’s we try to work with the students on a one-on-one basis. We have a literacy program that is ongoing right now. For those that are a bit out of hand, we have the counseling program that provides support for them. And the beauty about it is, the support is not just for the children but it's for the parents as well. That type of relationship that we have here, to see an individual and to provide for them, to give them the opportunities that they need to be successful as a whole. So it's working together with them, and providing support from all areas. Just to get them to be able to cope with life and to succeed at whatever they do.
We have a spiritual aspect as well where - recently, on Sunday, we had the sacrament of Confirmation. A couple weeks ago, we had the sacrament of First Holy Communion. So we try to offer them that spiritual aspect as well. Inviting them to church - for the most part, you find the children coming to church, but not the parents. It's a step forward, but eventually our hope is to have the parents back in church as well. But we are working towards that. So the spiritual aspect, we have seen some improvement there. It was a bit challenging at first. Because of COVID, two years without the church, so the behavior, getting them accustomed to being in the church. How do you behave when you're in church? How do you sit, how do you react, how do you respond? And so we're in that process right now of trying to get them back to where they should be. I work closely with Father David. He would give me feedback every so often, and say to me, "Ms. Wade, the responses to parts of the mass is very poor." But recently he's been telling me that he has seen improvement. And even singing - the children are singing more songs now. But it's just providing them that form of education to be able to know what to do. They have been out for so long, and we do expect that they are not going to be perfect at the start. But giving them the support they need, and eventually they will get here.
Going back to support for the students. I'd love to hear from you if there's anything at the school that you feel, you know isn't working or that needs improvement either with supporting the students' education or with the administration, you know, anything that you feel isn't working as it should.
Okay. One - this is me as an educator speaking. I would love to see the computer lab up and running. I have been lobbying for our computer lab because I know and I have seen what disadvantages the students who leave us face because of the lack of basic computer skills. For instance, during COVID, we graduated two sets of students - 2020 and 2022 - and those children went to high school and they had to do everything online. But they did not have the skills, they did not know anything about computer, how to turn on a computer. But that was the reality that they were faced with going into high school. And so they were all placed at a disadvantage. My hope is to see St. Martin’s develop a computer lab where our students are able to learn basic computer skills. So that if ever they find themselves in a situation like this, that they will be able to work or perform and not be at a disadvantage. That was one thing that I knew was very lacking, providing that avenue for the children to be able to learn and to be able to cope with what is out there.
Another disadvantage, I would say, would be resources. We definitely need resources in terms of access - whether it be online or hard copies - more textbook and resource book for the students. The ministry does provide some, to a certain extent. Since COVID we have not received any workbooks for the children. And so we have been doing a lot of printing. We got a donation from the Sisters of Charity, where they donated a printer for us. And likewise, during COVID, we also got a donation to cover the costs of printing and buying papers for those learning packages that we sent home. And so we're in a better place now in terms of having access to printing and getting materials to teachers. We encourage them to send us their order at least 3 days in advance so whatever academic sheets they need, we can get those printed for them. And so resources in terms of textbooks. We definitely need more textbooks for our children.
For spirituality, I will say, the teachers have a manual, "Christ Our Life," but the students don't have a textbook that they use to learn. There are textbooks available, but the students don't have access to these. So it's just the teachers, and the teachers will photocopy activities, even though there's copyright laws out there, we still do what we need to do to get the children to have the resources they need to get the work done. So resources is one thing, the computer lab is the next. We have all trained teachers - all our teachers are trained or else they would not be allowed in the classroom. You must have a college license to be a teacher. And so all our teachers at this time are trained so they do have the critical skills to be able to develop learning instruction in the classroom, so that does help us.
Going back to more of the administrative side. I know you have the discernment planning team. Can you tell me a little bit about - I mean, I don't really know anything about that. Do you find it effective? Do you find that there are any problems there?
For the discernment planning team, its administrators, the local manager, assistant local manager, in addition to teachers who are head of each division. You have someone who is the head teacher of preschool, head teacher for infant, head teacher for middle division, and the head teacher for the upper division. And so we meet and we discuss and discern plans for the upcoming school year. What are some areas that you want to focus on? And of course, we go through the process of discerning where we get the opportunity to say what we believe are areas that should be addressed. And then we discuss it, we talk about it, and finally, the final stage, we are going to come up with objectives to go along with those specific areas that we will be focusing on. It's a whole process of Ignatian spirituality guided by Father Andres of course, he guides us through the whole process. He facilitates us. And so we do that at least twice a month leading up to the final goals that we will be focusing on.
Can you tell me about a time that that process was effective, and a time that that process - there were some problems with the process.
Okay. This school year, 2022-2023. It's actually the first year that we have included teachers, or head of department - or head of divisions. Previously, it was just admin - Father Andres and Ms. Gina. And so we decided to get the input of the teachers, simply because they are the ones on the ground, and they know exactly what their experiences are and what they need. We have an idea, but we are looking at it from a broader perspective. They can let us know exactly what the specific needs are, because they are the ones.
Last year, we - the administrative team, along with Father and Ms. Gina - we came up with goals and objectives, and it was a challenge to get it started simply because in the beginning - finance. We did not have access to all the finance. But Father Andres was very resourceful and he was able to be creative and tap into resources that are out there to help us, specifically with the holistic development. We decided that we were going to have clubs, and so we have a club for expressive arts, a club for music, dancing. We have a sports club, we have different clubs going, and so we needed to have resources to have those clubs up and running. And we were trying to get some resources in.
So there was a struggle in getting the funds.
A struggle to get that resource. Father was very creative in the sense that for Christmas, instead of on the Christmas trees, you have these ornaments and it's just standing there. Instead the ornaments on the trees, were ornaments with our wish lists. And so parishioners would come to church and pick one of the ornaments and they would donate something that is on that tree to the school, to help us with our program. And the donation was very good. But of course we needed some more stuff, and that is where Father was able to tap into some finances and get some of those donations for us.
We struggle with the PTA - that was another goal - the parent teacher association. And primarily we were able to put together an executive team, but the struggle right now is time, because they are all working. So whenever they do have a meeting, it has to be after 8 in the night and then we don't meet quorum, so the meeting has to be postponed till another date. But it's a vibrant team, it's just finding the time to get them all together. Our meetings so far have been online. We have not had any face-to-face meeting, even though we try, and it's just so difficult to get everybody together for us to have face-to-face meetings. But we still try and we're going to see how that works out for us. But that has been a struggle as well. There was one other area - team building, Father was cast to develop that program for us, but unfortunately, that hasn't gotten off the ground yet. We're going to have sessions, workshops, training, to help us develop as a team, an administrative team.
So team-building workshops for the administration?
For the administration.
And there were some issues with that?
Well, it never happened.
And who wanted that to happen - whose idea was that?
Well that was part of our discernment last year, for the previous school year. And so we were supposed to have team building workshops for administrators but that never happened.
Do you know why?
Well, I don't really know why, but that was Father Andres. He was tasked to ensure that the team building workshops happen, but they never did. So that's an area of weakness that maybe, we could add it to this year again because we're in the process of evaluating and looking at what all we have done and what all we've accomplished. And so we're trying to figure out, what are the gaps and how we can fill them in.
I'd love to talk a little bit more about, you know, the Jesuit identity of the school. And so I'd love to hear from you. What does a Jesuit identity mean to you, for St. Martin’s? What are the values?
If I'm supposed to go by the values that I - [laughs]
Not "What you're supposed to," I want to know how you see that, how you see it at St. Martin’s.
When we think of Jesuits, I think about men and women for others. And so that's the first thing that comes to mind. And I ask myself, are we men and women for others here at St. Martin’s? And the answer is yes. Yes, because as a team, not just administrative team, but the teachers as well, we are here to support each other. The counseling program offers teachers that opportunity to reach out if they need help. They have that opportunity to seek assistance from Ms. Tina or any of the counselors in the counseling program if they need that type of assistance. We also have Ms. Martin and Ms. Vanessa - those are two counselors as well - who, from time to time, will offer us sessions that will help us to develop a growth mindset as opposed to a fixed mindset. So they have been working with us.
For some years - as I said, I've been here for quite a while - and we have heard the term used loosely that we are a Jesuit institution, but we never really knew what that meant. It's just, now, when Father Brian came about, he introduced us to a little bit more about what it means to be a Jesuit. What is Ignatian spirituality? We were able to do sessions where we would incorporate sessions in our daily classroom routine. At the end of each day, we would have the children sit back and reflect and discuss gratitude. What are they grateful for? What are some things that happened to me that make you feel grateful, you know?
What do you think St. Martin’s could do more to develop the Jesuit values - either through education or through the culture of the school?
I believe more education because I believe the lack of education about being a Jesuit is what - is how we were in the past. But with the awareness that has been brought about through Father Andres, he's actually continuing what Father Brian started. So now we have a better idea of what it means to be a Jesuit. Whatever we do, it's through prayerful reflection, we discern, we are not hasty in our decision-making. You know, in the past we just got together as an administrative team and we decided these are areas that we are going to be working on. Opposed to now, we actually have everybody giving their suggestions, and then we are trying to pray about it. We never prayed about that before, it was just okay, this is what's going to happen. But now we actually are making a conscious effort to see where our prayers are leading us.
Is there anything else that you would like to see from the school, or something that you'd like to see continued?
I would like to see more that the children - we have done for some time now, as the administrators - we have been going through discernment processes. Gratitude, spending time saying what we are grateful for. We need to incorporate that back into school. Have the children do it at their level as well. I believe bringing that back would be a great plus and that will improve the children's outlook of themselves, of the school, and of the community.
Yes, I think that's a good note to end this on. I want to ask you, if there's anything else you think that is important to add that I haven't asked you about.
Well, this is a start right here, getting all this information compiled and doing research. And then based on the findings, we can know how to move forward.
That's the goal.
