Ruel Reid - IAN ALLEN/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
RUEL REID, the current president of the Jamaica Teachers' Association (JTA), is tipped to become the new principal of Jamaica College (JC).
Sources close to the situation have confirmed that Mr. Reid is likely to take on the demanding job at JC, rather than a similar position reportedly being offered by two other high schools - Rusea's and Edwin Allen.
Mr. Reid, currently on one year's leave from his alma mater, Munro College, where he is a Master Teacher, has been highly visible in the media during his tenure as JTA president. Last week, the JTA held a special conference which focused on classroom leadership, aimed primarily at finding solutions to the problem of violence and other forms of delinquent behaviour in schools.
With many observers giving him high marks for his leadership of the teachers' union, his stocks have risen significantly, causing several schools searching for solutions to their leadership problems, to look in his direction.
AN ILLUSTRIOUS HISTORY
Jamaica College, the more than 200-year-old school for boys, has had an illustrious history, numbering among its alumni, leaders in many fields, including National Hero Norman Washington Manley and his son, former prime minister Michael Manley.
Another graduate, Patrick Lipton Robinson, is a judge sitting on the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague, while the school's current board chairman, R. Danny Williams, is widely respected for his pioneering leadership of the Jamaican insurance industry.
In recent years, however, the Old Hope Road-based JC, like many other schools, has struggled to cope with rising disciplinary problems and declining academic standards.
Reverend Barrington, principal of Black River High, who previously taught at Jamaica College, regards the choice of Ruel Reid as a good one for the school. "So far, he has represented the teachers well in the JTA, giving real leadership. He should also do well at Jamaica College. In that regard, his experience at Munro, also a boys' school, where he has been a senior teacher and house master, should stand him in good stead to take on the new challenges."
