A small school trying to do big things

In the coming weeks, Newsday will be visiting and reporting on the activities of those schools in TT that set themselves apart. Schools that stand out. Is your school a great school? Does it produce outstanding academic results? Does it have a great track record in sports? An inspiring teacher? A committed PTA that works to improve the school? No matter what part of Trinidad or Tobago you’re from, tell us about it, and Newsday will shine a spotlight on your school in our weekly feature.

This week, we’re shining a spotlight on Buccoo Government Primary School, Tobago. Look out for more outstanding schools every Monday in your TT Newsday.

“A small school trying to do big things.”

This is how principal of the Buccoo Government Primary School, Tobago, Corine Smith-Rochford, describes the institution, which made its way into TT’s history books after this year’s Secondary Entrance Assessment Examination (SEA).

Former students Sebastien Rampersad and Adanna Rodriguez did the school proud by placing first and tenth, respectively, in Tobago, in the SEA exam.

But the school’s success did not end there.

Rampersad also placed 18th among the top 100 SEA students, nationally. Both students are attending Bishop’s High School.

For Smith-Rochford, the students’ achievement is the realisation of a promise she made seven years ago, in 2012, when she became principal.

“When I became principal, the group of children that walked into the door with me, I vowed that I would take them to the top because they came with me, so I will walk with them,” she said on Wednesday in an interview in her small, uncluttered office.

Smith-Rochford said the parents and teachers also shared her determination, enthusiasm and vision.

She recalled: “There were some parents who said ‘Miss, we are going to put Buccoo on the map.’ They vowed that from the first day that they came and now, seven years later, we have put Buccoo on the map. We wanted to break the ceiling in Tobago and it was something we worked towards.”

Smith-Rochford recalled alumnus Ancil Dennis, in a motivational address to the SEA class before the exam, had promised to give the two students who placed in the top ten in Tobago, $3,000 each.

She joked the Buccoo/Mt Pleasant representative and Assistant Secretary in the Office of the Chief Secretary, was forced to put his money where his mouth is.

“When the results came out, he called me and said ‘Miss, I am coming with my vouchers. So, is like he spoke prophecy into the children’s head.”

Dennis told Newsday he is tremendously proud and heartened by the school’s performance in the SEA exam within recent years.

“This success is not only something that has happened recently. In fact, within the last five or six years or so, as far as I could remember, Buccoo has been doing tremendously well where SEA is concerned,” he said.

Dennis said apart from the academics, the school also has been doing well in sports, agriculture and other extra-curricular activities.

“It is one of those primary schools that provides a lot of opportunities for the children in areas outside of the academics.”

Dennis said community support, by way of individuals and organisations such as Buccoo Village Council, Yahweh Foundation, Healing With Horses Foundation, also has played a tremendous role in the school’s success over the years.

Dennis also commended the school’s principal and teachers for their commitment and dedication.

He said he intends to demonstrate his faith and trust in the school by enrolling his young daughter there next September.

Smith-Rochford leads from in front

Not one for armchair administration, Smith-Rochford has developed a reputation among her staff for being a driven, hands-on and results-oriented leader - a stance she believes has served the school in good stead over the years.

“If I sit the ideas don’t come but a soon as I start to walk the ideas come. I am not a sitting principal. I am a walking principal. When you sit in the office it holds you back.”

She said her teachers are always eager to try new methods and ideas in imparting knowledge to the students.

Situated on School Street in the unspoilt, seaside village, Buccoo Government can be considered a relatively new primary school.

The school was established in 1976 but was formally re-opened by former education minister Hazel Manning in 2003.

It has a small staff of 14, including principal and senior teacher, and a student population of just 232.

Backed by the motto, The Best Always, the school is equipped with a staff room, computer room and library.

Smith-Rochford said Buccoo Government must be seen as the pillar around which the community is built.

“I call it an emerging school, emerging out of a tourism/fishing community into a school that believes education is the pillar on which we are going to further the community.”

She went on: “So, Buccoo is a school that wants the community to rally around it, a school with committed teachers and children who are willing to learn, who understand that coming to school to get an education is their purpose and because of that purpose their lives would not be Buccoo alone. Their lives will be lives that will touch anywhere in the world because of a good education.”

But the success which the school enjoys did not come easy but is the result of years of determination, sacrifice and commitment on the part of teachers and parents.

Smith-Rochford noted in the years preceding 2007, the school was under what is called academic watch by the Ministry of Education based on its performance in the national test.

However, from 2009 to 2014, the school elevated its profile and was deemed mostly effective. One year later, Buccoo Government was rated as an excellent school.

It’s a far cry from the stigma that has been attached to the area over the years, long before Smith-Rochford even dreamt of becoming principal.

“Long ago, when people wanted to tell somebody they were ‘duncee’ and Buccoo did not have a school, people used to say, “yuh went Buccoo” and they would make you feel bad. But, it’s a stigma that you have to erase with success.”

And while she acknowledges Buccoo Government is not one of the primary schools in Tobago people expect would do well in the SEA, Smith-Rochford believes the stigma is quickly being eroded.

She said under her watch, SEA results have fluctuated.

“In 2012, we had some good results with about four children in the Tobago top 20. In 2015, we had one in the Tobago top 20 and in 2016, three.”

Smith-Rochford said while critical thinking, problem-solving and creative writing are now key components on Buccoo Government’s academic programme, the school also places heavy emphasis on extra-curricular activities.

“We have built our school around sports. We see it as the catalyst to drive children.”

The school is preparing for the upcoming Tobago Primary Schools’ Football League. It is also involved in netball, swimming, athletics, golf and very soon, karate.

Buccoo Government is also involved in the arts and culture.

It hosts a bi-annual Christmas concert is currently participating in the Integrity Commission’s Do Right speech band competition for primary and secondary schools. Speech band is an intrinsic part of the island’s heritage.

Smith-Rochford said the school’s achievement in this year’s SEA is due, in part, to its well-rounded curriculum.

“The children were also very creative and exposed to all of the things you want them to be exposed to at school.”

She said the young teachers who taught the SEA classes also played a pivotal role in the school’s success.

“They were young, full of energy and zeal and they were committed. They were (Seventh Day) Adventists and they used to come on a Sunday from 9 am to 1pm to work with the children.”

Asked how she felt, personally, about the school’s achievement in this year’s SEA exam, Smith-Rochford said: “I felt it was like a dream come true and it was like starting over my teaching career because you meet this point and you cannot go back down. So, it is like charting the way forward again.”

“Even though you think that this strategy worked this year, the same thing might not work over the next two years. So, it is like going back to the drawing board and saying, ‘Let me draw over this plan and set another target.’”

She is confident many of the children in the current SEA classes could repeat Sebastien and Adanna’s accomplishments “but it takes commitment.

“Tobago needs some success stories. So we want to continue to raise the school’s profile. But it will take sound leadership, understanding what it takes to motivate teachers, hard work and sticking to one’s plan.”

Smith-Rochford said her dream is for Buccoo Government to be the premier learning institution in TT, producing outstanding performances across all curriculum areas and promoting the total development of the child.

“But for now, we are just a small school trying to do big things.”