Tracelyn Hamilton has been appointed Anguilla’s new chief education officer, bringing over 38 years of experience to the role.
The new head of the Department of Education has worked as a teacher, principal and education officer, with experience spanning primary and secondary education and student support services.
A department press release announcing the appointment, commencing 17 August, said her experience positions her to provide the leadership needed to advance the government’s education priorities.
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She will also be prepared to “see through a number of significant initiatives aimed at strengthening the quality and responsiveness of Anguilla’s education system”, it said.
Hamilton began her career in education in 1987 as a primary school teacher and later went on to serve with specialised skills as a reading recovery teacher and an English as a second language teacher.
She has taught in five of the six primary schools across Anguilla and is still called ‘Teacher Tracelyn’ by the many students whose lives she touched during that time.
In 2008, she was promoted to the position of principal, tasked with managing teams of teachers, support and ancillary staff while holding primary responsibility for the schools’ instructional work.
During her 10-year tenure as principal at both Vivien Vanterpool Primary School and Adrian T Hazel Primary School she pioneered a range of interventions.
She developed a teachers’ handbook to provide orientation and give professional guidance, and established the single gender classroom project to address the differing learning styles and educational needs of boys.
“These initiatives demonstrated Mrs Hamilton’s professional commitment to instructional excellence, as well as her dedication to supporting the individual needs and paths to success for each learner,” the department said.
In 2018, she was appointed education officer of Multi-Professional Support Services where she provided oversight for a broad range of services impacting students at the primary and secondary level.
These included special educational needs, literacy and reading support, and student health and wellbeing.
More recently, she has championed the introduction of sensory units designed to support students who benefit from carefully calibrated environments that promote self-regulation and skill development.
Similarly, at the departmental level Hamilton and the Multi-Professional Support Services team have proposed the renaming of the division to ‘Student Support Services’.
She has also overseen the launch of the department’s Intensive Immersion English Unit at Albena Lake-Hodge Comprehensive School, and developed partnerships with Wilfrid Laurier University for continuing professional development opportunities for staff.
Hamilton received her teaching certificate from the St Kitts-Nevis College of Education.
She also has a Master of Education in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages from the University of Bristol, UK, and a Master of Education in Education Leadership and Administration from Walden University, USA.
Service and a strong sense of mission also characterise her life beyond her professional and personal responsibilities, and she makes time to invest in the wider community.
Hamilton serves as Christian educator and lay minister with the Church of God of Prophecy Anguilla.
She is the founder of a non-profit called ‘Inspire’ in memory of her sister and highlights the successes of children and youth at her local church.
Inspire runs a ‘No Boy Left Behind’ programme that enhances early literacy skills for boys (K–2) and provides uniforms to young students in need.
