Sat | Jun 3, 2023

Port Antonio High educator named Mathematics Teacher of the Year

Published:Monday | March 27, 2023 | 12:17 PM
From left: Dr Tamika Benjamin, National Mathematics Coordinator in the Ministry of Education and Youth; Dr Kasan Troupe, Acting Chief Education Officer; Sandra Jones, Manager, Public Sector Engagement, JN Bank, present Mathematics Teacher of the Year, Tanya Dawkins of Port Antonio High School, with her winning trophy. The ceremony was held at the University of the West Indies on March 27. – Kenyon Hemans photo.

Tanya Dawkins, a teacher at Port Antonio High School in Portland, is the 2023 Mathematics Teacher of the Year. 

She copped the prestigious honour during the awards ceremony at the University of the West Indies today. 

"It is the passion, the desire to make an impact that drives us to be the best version of ourselves," a teary Dawkins said as she accepted the award. 

She revealed that it was a colleague who actually entered her into the competition, which has been around since 2013. 

But, she shared that the experience has been "rich and rewarding.” 

"There is a feeling of honour, excitement and indescribable joy to be named the Mathematics teacher for 2023," she said. 

She was selected as the winner from six national finalists.

A total of 50 primary and secondary school teachers from across the seven education regions were nominated. 

To win this award, Dawkins would have displayed passion for the subject area, showed through her commitment the use of best practises when delivering instructions, instituting mathematics programmes at her school, which raised the profile of the subject, and the use of students performance data to drive instructions. 

The nominees were observed teaching mathematics lessons by members of regional and national mathematics judges as well as education officers. 

They were also interviewed by a panel of judges on mathematics teaching and learning.

Individuals were scored based on these interactions. 

Dawkins will enjoy prizes that include a one-year membership to the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM), which is the world's largest organisation concerned with mathematics education, as well as a trip to San Francisco in the United States for the NCTM 2023 Conference, and a tablet courtesy of title sponsor, Jamaica National Bank. 

- Sashana Small 

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