Dr Nadine Althea Theda Scott - File

Dr Nadine Althea Theda Scott, principal of Excelsior Community College in Kingston, was the seventh female to be elected president of the Jamaica Teachers' Association (JTA). She created history by being a part of the first female duo to serve the association consecutively.

At the end of her one-year term in August 2000, she passed the baton to Lorraine Judith Spencer-Jarrett.

Dr Scott was virtually home-schooled into teaching as her mother, Theda Scott, and three other siblings, also became teachers.

The Westwood High School and Ohio State University graduate has for decades unselfishly given of herself and her talents towards the educational development of others.

She has served as visual arts lecturer at both St Joseph's Teachers' College and the University of the West Indies in St Andrew. Her interest in her students seems to have transcended the mere academic programmes to include character-building traits, as attested by Yvonne Rodney, who attended St Joseph's Teachers' College. Rodney praised Dr Scott for helping to build her resolve and restore her self-confidence.

The recently appointed principal of Excelsior Community College has brought a wealth of knowledge and experience to bear on that illustrious institution. Her professional training includes certificates in education from the Jamaican Institute of Management, Shortwood Teachers' College, and Golda Meir Inter-national Training Centre. She is also the holder of a diploma from Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts, a Master of Science in Education degree from State University College of New York, and a Doctor of Philosophy degree from Ohio State University.

Time for action

At her inaugural address as president of the JTA in August 1999, Dr Scott focused her sights on the seemingly senseless killings that were taking place in the society and the disregard for the sanctity of human life. She said that the situation had reached crisis proportions, that it had begun to manifest itself in the schools, and that there was the need for urgent action.

"As a country, we have to stop talking and act. Excellence cannot be achieved in a climate where there is fear and uncertainty," she was reported as saying.

She also said that it was imperative to begin to cultivate a culture of peace in the island's schools.

At the very outset of her tenure as JTA president, she put forward an agenda which would guide discussions for the remainder of the academic year. Included among the topics were the pursuit of literacy in the schools, the need to appoint guidance counsellors in primary schools, and the need to find the necessary funding to assist teachers who were desirous of furthering their education.

Early in her tenure, the government made an announcement that they were going to remove the subsidy from boarding high schools, and this drew her ire. She viewed the move as a retrograde step and argued that it was defeating the purpose on which these institutions were established.

Fulbright seminar

The soft-spoken, highly organised and no-nonsense educator has, over the years, been very active in several facets of education. She has co-founded an organisation called CREATE, for educators and artists in the Caribbean. She was also one of the special selectees who attended a Fulbright seminar at Howard University in the United States of America.

Dr Scott was also appointed as a director on the board of the Jamaica Teachers' Association. She has, for the past several years, been serving as chief examiner of visual arts for the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate examination.