New post for Dublin

Josephine Dublin, the recently retired principal of the Convent High School (CHS) is the first superintendent of all Catholic schools in Dominica. There are nine Catholic schools here-four secondary and five primary.

Dublin's appointment took effect on September 1, 2017, Bishop Gabriel Malzaire told the Sun.

Dublin has been in the education system in Dominica for over two decades; she was the principal of the CHS for over five years before retiring at the end of the 2017 school year.

Speaking to the SUN in an exclusive interview, Bishop Malzaire said: "It became very clear to us that we needed oversight of our schools on all levels, administration, and teacher supervision and on the level of relationship with the board so that the board can have a greater idea of what is happening in the schools."

He continued: "One would agree that the history of the Catholic schools in Dominica has proven that we have always depended on the goodwill of principals. We have had great principals in the past…and we are in no way questioning the credibility and ability of them. But it is just that in order for us to advance the quality of the education that we give then we have to do certain things. Fortunately, the Catholic schools have over the years have been doing very well and are well sought after by a lot of people.

"But, that being said, in order for us to maintain the quality that we would like to maintain, we need to have the necessary things in place to maintain that quality. So, we felt that having a Superintendent of Catholic Schools who will be relating constantly with the principals, the teachers and the school board would help us in a better way to keep the standards that we have maintained over the years."

Bishop Malzaire added: "This is something that we have been thinking about for a very long time…but we had to find the warm body behind it the appropriate person. So when she (Mrs. Dublin) spoke about her retirement from CHS we just thought that, she was the perfect person for the post. She has been in education for more than 40 years.

"I am very pleased with her in terms of her abilities and her relationships with principals and teachers and I have no doubt in mind that she will assist and guide us in where we want our Catholic schools to go." the Bishop stated.