标签： Dominica

Mervin Alexander has won a fourth straight term as President of the Dominica Association of Teachers (DAT), following voting conducted during the organization’s 18th Biennial Convention. The three-day gathering wrapped up its election proceedings on Wednesday at the St. Alphonsus Parish Hall, bringing together educators from across the island to chart the union’s next two-year course and select new leadership.

This year’s convention centered on a theme that highlights the critical role of education professionals in national progress: “Teachers: The Foundation For National Development-Value Us.” The messaging underscores widespread advocacy among Dominican educators for greater recognition of their contributions to the country’s long-term growth and social stability.

Alongside Alexander’s re-election, the convention finalized the full roster of DAT’s new executive committee that will guide the union through 2028. Julian L Benjamin takes on the role of First Vice President, while Carla Douglas will serve as Second Vice President. Francis JnoLewis retains the position of General Secretary, with Nara Winston stepping in as Assistant General Secretary. Kathleen Cornelius was elected Treasurer, and Jerry Coipel will support her as Assistant Treasurer. Juanita Carbon will fill the role of Public Relations Officer, and Catherine Robinson and Gezel Mondesire-Charles have been named Trustees of the organization.

As the leading professional body for teachers in Dominica, DAT advocates for improved working conditions, competitive compensation, and professional development opportunities for its members, while also partnering with the national government to advance education policy reforms across the country. Alexander’s fourth consecutive term signals broad member confidence in his leadership to continue advancing those priorities in the years ahead.

Sixteen senior law enforcement officers from across member states of the Caribbean Regional Security System (RSS) have crossed the graduation stage this week, capping off a three-week intensive advanced leadership training program designed to elevate regional policing capabilities.

Developed through a longstanding collaborative partnership between the RSS Training Institute and the United Kingdom’s Durham Constabulary, the International Leadership and Management (Gold) Course was specifically crafted for top-tier law enforcement personnel, including Senior Superintendents, Division Commanders, and Assistant Commissioners. The program’s core mission is to strengthen strategic leadership capacity across the region’s law enforcement agencies, equipping senior leaders to tackle evolving public safety challenges more effectively.

The graduation ceremony, held Thursday, April 2 at RSS Headquarters, marked the formal completion of the training, with certificates awarded to all participating officers in recognition of their work throughout the program. In his address to the graduating cohort, RSS Deputy Executive Director Atlee Rodney emphasized the critical weight of the leaders’ responsibilities to communities across the region. He urged graduates to remain unwavering in their public service commitments, noting that strong leadership at the senior level is foundational to enabling both individual agencies and the RSS collective to address pressing social challenges and improve overall quality of life for regional citizens.

Rodney also reaffirmed the RSS Training Institute’s ongoing commitment to developing practical, forward-thinking training programs and sustaining key international partnerships such as the one with Durham Constabulary, all in service of boosting regional policing capacity.

Royal Grenada Police Force Commissioner Randy Connaught, delivering the event’s keynote address, centered his remarks on the unique complexities senior law enforcement leaders face navigating modern strategic and political landscapes. He laid out a clear framework for ethical, effective senior leadership, defined by three core pillars designed to guide officers in balancing their operational duties, constitutional obligations, and relationships with elected governments.

“My charge to you is to master what is perhaps the most delicate and critical skill of executive leadership – managing the expectations of the political directorate… This is not about being political. It is not about partisanship. It is about managing a relationship that is constitutionally vital, operationally impactful and perpetually challenging,” Connaught told graduates. “As Gold leaders, you are no longer just guardians of public safety; you are also stewards of public trust and key advisors to the government of the day.”

Connaught’s first pillar of effective leadership is “Educate, Don’t Just Execute.” He explained that senior officers bear a professional and constitutional responsibility to act as expert advisors, rather than just implementing politically driven policies without context. When elected officials push for quick, reactive crackdowns on complex issues such as gang violence or youth offending, Connaught said leaders should draw on the problem-solving ethos of the Durham training to provide full, transparent context. This includes walking policymakers through threat assessments, community impact considerations, and the ethical implications of policy choices, to ensure decisions deliver legitimate, long-term public safety outcomes rather than short-term political gains.

“ You are not there to decide national policy that belongs to the government, but you are constitutionally bound to ensure that any such decision is made with the full understanding of the policing consequences. Your advice may be the difference between a politically expedient decision and a sustainable safe outcome,” he said.

The second foundational pillar focuses on preserving institutional integrity and continuity, urging leaders to prioritize organizational memory and institutional loyalty over temporary political interests. “Integrity is your shield. Politicians come and go. Elections are cyclical. But the police service is an enduring institution. Your loyalty is not to the individual in the ministerial office, but to the office itself, to the law, and to the people you serve,” Connaught stressed.

Connaught’s third pillar addresses one of the most persistent tensions in modern policing: bridging the gap between public and political expectations and on-the-ground operational capacity. Political campaign promises often create the public perception that police can solve complex social problems overnight, he noted, and it falls to senior leaders to act as transparent, honest brokers about what policing can deliver. “You must be able to demonstrate, with data and candor, the direct link between resources, funding, personnel, technology, wellbeing support and outcomes,” he explained.

Concluding his address, Connaught encouraged graduates to bring the innovative, problem-focused “Durham Difference” approach back to their home agencies, particularly when engaging with political leadership.

The ceremony also included formal recognition of the partnership between RSS and Durham Constabulary, with Deputy Executive Director Rodney presenting a token of appreciation to Chief Superintendent Ian Leech, course facilitator from Durham Constabulary.

On Wednesday, the 18th Biennial Convention of the Dominica Association of Teachers (DAT) opened its doors at the St. Alphonsus Parish Hall, drawing education professionals from across the island to discuss the critical intersection of teaching and national progress. This year’s conference theme, “Teachers: The Foundation For National Development-Value Us,” set the stage for a keynote address from Dr. Valda Henry, Deputy Governor of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB), who delivered a powerful call to recognize and empower educators as the engine of societal change.

In her featured address, Dr. Henry centered her remarks on the understated but indispensable role teachers play in driving systemic transformation. She told gathered attendees that teachers are far more than passive implementers of education policy – they are the active architects of a nation’s future. “At the center of all of this transformation lies who? Teachers, you,” she stated. “You are the ones who must translate curriculum into meaningful learning experiences. You bridge the gap between policy and practice. You are not just implementers of reform, you are the drivers of transformation.”

Dr. Henry expanded on her definition of transformation, explaining that it encompasses both small, incremental progress and bold, large-scale change. She urged educators to embrace a mindset of resilience, noting that the courage to overcome challenges is a core part of being the transformation they want to see in their students and communities.

A key point of Dr. Henry’s address focused on the urgent need for adequate investment in modern education infrastructure and teacher training. She argued that it is unfair and unrealistic to expect educators to prepare students for 21st-century careers and challenges using outdated tools, outdated training models, and obsolete curricula. If societies expect teachers to cultivate high-demand skills like digital literacy, critical thinking, and creative problem-solving in their students, they must first provide teachers with the resources, training, and support they need to build those skills themselves.

Even as she called for systemic investment in the teaching profession, Dr. Henry also emphasized that responsibility for growth is shared between institutions and individual educators. “It is a two-way street,” she emphasized. “It is not just people investing in you, you too must invest in yourself.” She encouraged teachers to take proactive steps to update their skills and adapt to changing educational needs, reinforcing that their own professional growth directly translates to stronger national development.

The convention comes as small island nations across the Eastern Caribbean work to adapt their education systems to shifting economic and technological trends, making discussions around teacher empowerment and investment particularly timely for the region.