Denbigh principal calls for shared resources in Clarendon schools

Principal of Denbigh High School in Clarendon, Annett Daley, is urging greater collaboration among schools and stronger partnerships with donors and stakeholders. Shared resources – particularly sports infrastructure – are, she argues, critical to strengthening education and youth development in central Jamaica.

A former national coach and head of Jamaica’s Under-21 netball team, Daley said her philosophy as an educator is rooted in teamwork and collective effort.

“As a sports person, we know that collaboration is important,” she noted, stressing that cooperation should extend beyond individual institutions. With several secondary schools clustered in Clarendon –among them Glenmuir High, Foga Road High and Central High – she sees scope for joint initiatives that could benefit students across the parish. “Collaborating with a group of schools can also assist us in improving the education offerings that we have,’’ she added.

Daley also pressed for improved sports infrastructure, specifically a running track. Central Jamaica, she said, consistently produces exceptional athletes, but lacks facilities to sustain excellence. Vere Technical High and Edwin Allen High continue to feed Jamaica’s athletic dominance, yet a centralised track could elevate talent further.

“We are producing so many good athletes, what about giving us a running track in central Jamaica to improve on what we are producing in Jamaica?” she asked, calling on donors and corporate partners to play a transformative role.

DONATIONS

Her remarks followed a handover ceremony at Denbigh High, where Jamaican-American academic and Clarendon native Dr LaVerne DaCosta donated resources to modernise the school’s visual arts facility. Daley described the gift as a powerful example of how partnerships can drive institutional advancement at a time when public resources are stretched. “We all know that a school cannot really function the way that we would want it with just what comes from the government,” she said, noting that national funding must be shared across multiple sectors.

Partnerships with alumni, benefactors and well-wishers, she argued, are now central to progress. “That is how we are going to move the school into the 21st century, where it is modernised,” she said, insisting that educational spaces must evolve as business and industry do. Stagnant classrooms, unchanged for decades, undermine the value placed on learning. The upgraded visual arts facility, she suggested, is a tangible signal of growth, innovation and possibility.

In her second year as principal, Daley reflected on her return to Denbigh High, describing herself as “the prodigal son returning”.

She previously taught at the school before lecturing at Mico University College, later returning to lead Denbigh High on Jackson Street in May Pen. She paid tribute to former principals – including Joan Wint, Dr Kasan Troupe, Jean Porter and immediate past principal Janice Julal – crediting their leadership with positioning Denbigh as a school of choice.

Demand for enrolment, she said, continues to outpace available space. “For me, it’s about stepping on the giants that have laid the path,” Daley remarked, adding that her role is to build on that legacy while pushing the institution forward through innovation, collaboration and sustained partnerships.

Daley concluded that the future of Jamaican education will depend not only on government support, but on collective commitment – from schools, alumni, corporate Jamaica and the wider community – to invest in environments that nurture excellence, in the classroom, on the field and beyond.

olivia.brown@gleanerjm.com