Education bosses confirmed after years of acting in posts
Lyneth Monteith, Director of the Department of Education Services
(CNS): Lyneth Monteith, who has been acting chief education officer for two years, has finally been confirmed in the post, which is now called the director of the Department of Education Services. Meanwhile, Cetonya Cacho has been officially appointed deputy chief officer for education policy and planning in the education ministry after three years acting in the post. Both women went through a successful recruitment process for the top jobs, education officials said in a release Tuesday.
Congratulating the two former teachers turned bureaucrats, Chief Officer for Education Christen Suckoo said, “I have had the privilege to work with them both over the last three years and I am confident that they will help take the government education system to where it needs to be – a system of excellence where our students can confidently and successfully compete at the global level, both here in Cayman and abroad.”
Monteith and Cacho have both worked directly in the education system as teachers and school leaders and were both students of local government schools.
“Their wealth of knowledge and first-hand experience of the government schools will truly be a benefit to ensure that the system is heading in the right direction,” Suckoo said.
Ministry officials stated that Monteith had “a wealth of experience”, having served 35 years in the education system. She began as a classroom teacher in 1981 and six years later became head of social studies at the Cayman Islands Middle School until 1992. She was then a senior tutor for 14 years and obtained the position of school leader for Leading Edge High School (one of the 4 schools split from the original George Hicks High School) from 2006 to 2008.
In 2008 she was appointed acting campus manager for the George Hicks campus and was deputy principal of John Gray High School from September 2010 to March 2011, when she became acting principal. She was formally appointed principal of John Gray High School in June 2011 and remained in that post until appointed acting CEO in March 2015.
Monteith said her new post was “a crucial one in our education system as the post holder leads the operational arm of the Ministry of Education and also collaborates and leads on high level policy development and implementation.” Describing the job as both a challenge and an opportunity, she said she was ready for that challenge.
Cetonya Cacho, Deputy Chief Officer (Education Policy and Planning)
Cacho, who started as a teacher at Bodden Town Primary, has been in the government education system since 2004. After just four years at the school she was appointed principal and then became manager of initial teacher training. She has been acting deputy chief officer since march 2014.
“I have always had a passion for education and I was fortunate enough to have my life touched by a number of effective and caring teachers. Their influence as well as my own drive and determination have led me to a career in education,” she said. “My professional motto is ‘everything I do is for the benefit of the children I serve.’ These words are a daily reminder of the purpose of my work and help to drive my decisions in the field of education.”
Monteith holds a degree from Leeds University and an MA in Educational Management from Bath University. Cacho has a degree in Elementary Education and Psychology from the University of Miami, and an MBA from the University of Southampton and is currently undertaking doctoral studies in education at Durham University of Durham.
Category: Local News
Let the useless conferences, position-nesting of their 3rd world teacher-friends, relaxed enforcement of bad student behavior, apologetic mentality of bad parenting, racial or religious privilege that leads to promotion of bad teachers, non-auditing of expenses, crumbling buildings, and basically much of the same that has been happening for decades…begin.
We all have so much to celebrate when people are put into power for their lack of solving past and continuing problems. If they have degrees, then they should be congratulated for pulling off the scam of the century by pulling over the wool over our eyes that they still deserve their promotions.
Did you take the time to study to become an educator? Have you ever worked in the education system? If you haven’t walked in the shoes you shouldn’t comment. Its easy to hide behind a computer to bring people down but when you have never walked the walk.
A failed head teacher to who swamping our education system with Seventh Day Adventists, failing schools and still she gets the job. Well done Cayman, pity the poor students.
Nothing to choose between the two parties and Lord help us if C4C with their very naiece policies gain ground.
Monteith holds a degree from Leeds University and an MA in Educational Management from Bath University. Cacho has a degree in Elementary Education and Psychology from the University of Miami, and an MBA from the University of Southampton and is currently undertaking doctoral studies in education at Durham University of Durham.
Those are the qualifications that allows you go from teacher to leader. I am very proud of these two Caymanians.
Stop being so jealous.
Newsflash – having an education does not mean you are a leader
I keep saying it!
Newsflash- to become a leader you have to go through the system and garner the experience needed to lead others. Are you a leader or a follower?
I am afraid you are so wrong. If you are going to lead in Education then it helps if you actually were a good teacher, good senior manager, good principal. These two ladies, despite ALL their qualifications do not fit the bill. However, we can all rest easy because they are from amongst us.
You would have imagined that the recruitment process for the job would have been success in your previous senior post. Apparently that is not a requirement. Once again a promotion is made with no track record of success yet somehow they are magically going to make a success of this one.
By the way the positions were advertised in the paper. How about actually walking in their shoes and work in the same environment they did and stop pulling people down who deserves the promotion. Once you walk the walk then talk the talk…
Poor teachers make poor managers. Enough said.
Poor managers make poor CEOs’
Not so sure if that’s true. But I do know that being good a one skill in a field is not a guarantee that you’ll good in another. End of story.
Both of these ladies have proven themselves well in their past and current roles. But as usual Caymanian (I am assuming by the moments) would rather spend all of their time cutting down their own people rather than celebrating each others successes. if one wants to stop the crab in a bucket mentality then perhaps one should make a conscious decision to stop being a crab.
The point is that one did not prove themselves at JGHS.
And exactly how do you measure that? Fact or fiction? The fact is the student performance at JGHS went up during her tenure. Do you really think that the entire 1000 students at JGHS are fairly represented by the handful you read about in the news? Why are you all so silent when JGHS students do well academically?which is also reported in the news, albeit at a lower rate and with less attention. But why not stop and acknowledge then. Fact is many on this stream are speaking from a position of ignorance.
Listen love, its got nothing to do with a handful of students. Read the inspection reports under her tenure. FAIL FAIL FAIL
when oh when shall it come o pass that the crab in a bucket Cayman mentality will be swept away and we as a people will respect and hold up one another. These individuals are appointed full stop, and, before given a chance to assume heir posts we crying dem down. Shame on us..
Our cry today of unfair treatment in the work place and on and on topics is really and truly caused by our lack of wanting to converge and work together to achieve our desired goals as citizens, as members of our community as parents etc. we Caymanians can effect changes good changes (and bad ones too if we are not careful) that will benefit all of us. This, however, can only happen if we all sing from the same Sanki, if we all commit to do whatever is necessary to make things better, jobs, reduce crime, effective education, lower cost of living, etc. The first step is taking part in this election. Every able bodied registered voter must cast a vote for people who we know can lead us, not just talk good look good, and give you hand outs or feed you at their meetings but that they have the intelligence demonstrate the vision and have the necessary tools to make positive changes. The second step is once elected is to continually demand conversations as to progress on the issues that affect the country on a whole and the individual single member communities. Third step and where necessary call them out, reprimand them and if we don’t see results have a massive call for their removal yes through referendum if necessary.
together.
Yes it can happen this way, yes we have the will now let us find the way to get OUR country back.
Bless Up One and All.
Foolishness…. it is a fact that for centuries the colonisers, irrespective of whether they were the Spanish, French or otherwise used the divide and rule tactics to control the natives. Did we get an extra dosage of that is the question you should be asking instead.
YOU are in charge, and responsible, for your own destiny. Stop crying about this or that ‘colonizer’
Always the same mistake. Take people who may or may have not been good teachers and expect them to be managers. Thanks Tara.
So how exactly do people in your organization move from their first position to management? And do you have any evidence that similar processes have not been done in these two cases?
Congrats! Well deserved
Agreed.
I am so proud of these appointments. Looking back at the appointments in the Civil service over the past couple of years has really been inspiring. Let’s look back at some of the talented Caymanians that have been promoted.
Christen Suckoo Chief officer education
Wesley Howell Chief Officer Home Affairs
Jeff Jackson and Kevin Walton Deputy collector of Customs
Tiffany Ebanks Chief financial officer in judicial administration
And so many others.
I am overjoyed that so many Caymanians are being promoted in the Civil Service. My congratulations to all.
OMG.
Let’s hope that the appointments are actually qualified for the job and didn’t just get promoted because of who “their mama or daddy is”, who they know or because they have been in the service for gazillion years and someone thought they deserved a promotion.
Only one I know for sure deserved theirs out the group you have named is Wesley Howell, don’t know anything about the others but hope they are as deserving an qualified as he is to hold their posts.
I also know Wesley to be someone who doesn’t feel “entitled” to anything. He works very hard and has qualifications, experience and the temperament to hold his current position.
Not saying the others named don’t have the same qualities, just saying I only know about him and his qualities so if they are anything like him, congratulations!
Lyneth Monteith is Wesley Howell’s sister. Cut from the same cloth.
Oh please!
Oh God really!
Yes just don’t expect too much.
really. you feel that way for true? LOL
Jam United..aka the new Jaman Islands
Isn’t one of these ladies the ex head of the failing JGHS while it was under her tenure?
Well its a quaint notion that you are proud that Christen Suckoo was in pushed out of his Education post because he raised difficult questions to JUJU. Be proud, be very proud folks!
More PPM doing….just in time for elections.
lol @6:51 opened the comments section to write the same thing!
Praying for God to handle this
You prayed and ended up with Tara…
May the good Lord help us all!
Lord deliver us.
Let the progressives go down with the ship!