The Stacy Richards story

After being expelled from Knox College in Clarendon because of behavioural issues, then forced to drop out of Victor Dixon High School in Manchester after becoming pregnant, it’s fair to assume no one would have staked their money on Stacy Richards coming to “something good”.

However, in a life that is built on resilience, determination, or simply the strength of a woman, Richards has emerged forcefully, crafting a living that does nothing, if not inspire others.

Years after her high school misadventures, Richards has completely turned her life around and is now firmly placed on the shelf reserved for successful people.

Her story tells of a woman who rose from being a double high school dropout to a bachelor’s degree in secondary education from Northern Caribbean University (NCU), a master’s degree in literacy instruction from the UWI Open Campus, to now pursuing a doctoral degree in educational leadership with a focus on curriculum and instruction.

She left Jamaica in 2021 to take up a position in one of New York’s fastest-growing charter schools, the Academy Charter School, where she has now risen to the post of assistant principal, the first Jamaican and also the first woman to attain that position.

Expelled, Pregnant in high school

Richards’ story began in deep rural St Ann in a community called Mount Moriah where she attended primary school, before moving to Aenon Town all-age.

She eventually entered Knox College, in Clarendon, but was expelled while in grade 10 for behavioural problems. After her expulsion she was placed at Victor Dixon High in Manchester and again couldn’t finish because she got pregnant while she was repeating grade 10, a stipulation for transferred students.

But her mother, Millicent Richardson, was her rock and stood by her and encouraged her to study on her own even while pregnant. As a result she was successful in six subjects in the CSEC examinations, after giving birth.

“I passed English language, literature, home management, food and nutrition, history, and social studies,” Richards told The Gleaner.

Putting her teenage struggles behind her, Richards eventually enrolled at Northern Caribbean University in Mandeville, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in secondary education in June 2009.

She emerged full of energy, ready to teach the youngsters from the curriculum, but also cognisant of the fact that her personal struggles and ultimate triumph, when her story is shared, would be able to inspire the younger generation.

And teaching meant switching from her long-held ambition to become a lawyer, a move she now has no regrets about.

In 2011, Richards started teaching at Aabuthnott Gallimore high school in Alexandria, St Ann, where she served until 2021.

Over the period, Richards accumulated several accolades for her job in the classroom. Known for her student-centred, collaborative, and committed approach, Richards received the Carlong Publishers Award for Outstanding Contribution to Education in 2019, and the Excellent Teacher Award from the Ministry of Education/Jamaica Teaching Council, also in 2019.

She made the top-five list in the Lasco Teacher of the Year Competition in 2019-2020, and also got an award for outstanding educational leadership during a Pandemic, in 2020.

Richards was involved in several other community schemes including a boys intervention programme she developed named, REAL Boss, that was aimed at addressing and transforming maladaptive behaviours among teenage boys.

However, awards can’t pay bills and like the scores of Jamaican teachers who leave the island each year for overseas in search of better rewards for their hard labour, she accepted a job offer in 2021 to teach at the Academy Charter School in Hempstead, New York.

The Academy Charter School boasts of creating world-class scholars who will learn today, lead tomorrow, and serve in the future, and operates in partnership with Columbia University, Adelphi University, Winthrop University Hospital, and the State University of New York (SUNY) at Old Westbury.

The Academy Charter School is a feeder for several top universities, including Harvard, Cornell, Princeton, Columbia, Hofstra, and New York University.

Richard’s philosophy centres on the belief that students care more about how much their teachers care, than how much they know. As such, at the Academy Charter she continued her excellent work inside and outside the classroom.

“I believe in empowering students and giving them a voice, and one of the things I did was to establish a debate team at the school,” she explained.

In its first year in the American Debate League in 2022-2023, the team finished second, then fifth in the 2023-20204 finals, outdoing several formidable opponents from New York, Connecticut, and New Jersey.

Professionalism and dedication

Now, after just three years at the school, Richards has entered uncharted territory, becoming the first woman, and first Jamaican to become assistant principal at the Academy Charter School.

She says she owes her promotion to her exceptional professionalism and dedication to her job.

“It’s a very humbling experience to be entrusted with the well-being of both students and staff,” she explained to The Gleaner. She believes her compassionate and transformative leadership qualities will help her make a significant contribution to the school.

With this promotion, Richards has also dispelled the Jamaican saying, “Wha gone bad ah mawning, cyaa cum gud ah evening,” showing the world that the most formidable of obstacles can be surmounted.

Richards said she has used her personal story, even before her promotion, to motivate teachers at her school, especially those who are from abroad.

Richards then shared with The Gleaner some of the differences between the Jamaican and American teaching and learning experience.

According to her, New York classrooms often emphasise individual learning and student participation, of which technology plays an integral part.

“In Jamaica I found the classrooms to be more teacher-centred, with a focus on rote learning, though this is changing with new educational initiatives,” she pointed out.

“Secondly, in New York there are smaller class sizes, allowing for more individual attention. On the other hand, Jamaican class sizes can be larger, which may limit individual support for students.

“Also, New York has a very diverse classroom, reflecting various cultures, which influence teaching styles and materials. The Jamaican education system often incorporates local culture and history, with an emphasis on national identity.

“Furthermore, In New York, strategies for discipline and classroom management often focus on positive reinforcement and collaborative problem-solving. In Jamaica, traditional methods of discipline may still be more common, though there has been a shift towards more modern approaches recently in some places.”

Richards said what she has found is that, in New York, parents are encouraged to be actively involved in their children’s education through meetings and volunteer opportunities.

“In Jamaica, parental involvement can vary widely, with some parents being very engaged and others less so, often due to economic challenges.”

“New York schools have access to a variety of resources, including technology and extracurricular programs. In Jamaica, resources can be limited, especially in rural areas, impacting the learning experience.”

editorial@gleanerjm.com