Geddes and Mexi Ann Grant

After a career in education that spanned half a century, Mrs Mexi Ann Grant retired from her position as Learning Community Leader for the Sister Islands this summer.

After all that time, it feels strange not to go to school, Mrs Grant said, but she’s so busy she doesn’t have time to think about it. “I’m enjoying taking care of my husband and doing things around the house that I’ve not been able to do for a long time.”

The person now filling her shoes is Tammy Banks-DaCosta, and Mrs Grant believes Ms Banks-DaCosta was a wonderful choice.

“Tammy is young and has vision for the schools and where she wants them to go; she is very committed to the education system. It is a very challenging job, especially now. Tammy is new to the job but she can call me if there’s something she’s not quite sure of,” offered Mrs Grant.

Reflecting on her long career, she said her greatest accomplishment during her years in education was the successful amalgamation of Creek and Spot Bay Primary Schools.

Her biggest challenge was the period after Hurricane Ivan. Because all the schools on Grand Cayman were severely damaged, many people with a Brac connection sent their children over to the Brac.

Unable to communicate with Grand Cayman, Mrs Grant made the decision to open the schools and accept the additional children. The Cayman Brac High School took in over 100 children within a few days, and before long student numbers on the Brac doubled.

“The principals and I rose to the challenge and in record time got schools up and running and made space for kids,” she said.

Mrs Grant’s own education began with private tutoring before she started school at age seven. At that time, when students reached standard 6, their parents paid the principal for private lessons so that they could take the Jamaica local exams.

As a bright student, young Mexi Ann took her First exams, skipped the Second, and then took and passed her Third exams.

She got the results around November 1956 and started teaching January 1957 as a pupil/teacher when she was just 14 years old, before she had even finished her own secondary education.

She and Ms Laverne Ryan had both passed their exams and both applied for the job. They were both hired, splitting the $12 per month salary between them.

In 1959 she went to college in Jamaica to continue her education, but in January 1960, still only 17 years old, she returned home to marry a Brac seaman, Geddes Grant.

Soon she was back working as supply teacher at the one-room schoolhouse at the West End (now the school hall), where students aged seven to 16 jostled together. Many of the classes, such as reading, science, geography, and history, were taught under the trees, she recalled.

Students were divided into upper (taught by the principal, Wilberforce Ruddock from Jamaica), middle and lower divisions.

From 1961 to 1964 she taught at West End Primary School as the middle school teacher, with Principal Layman Scott teaching the upper school and Annielee Ebanks teaching the younger children.

When eldest son Tony was a year and a half, she took a break from her career and did not return until 1974 when her youngest child, Trica, started school.

However, in 1978 three of the assistant teachers on the Brac who had no teacher training were told they needed an associate degree in teaching.

“Someone came from England just once, and then we just worked from books. A lot of it was based on practical experience,” said Mrs Grant. “We took one set of exams in 1978 and one set in 1979 and we all passed.”

Afterwards, they were informed by the Education Department that they could use this qualification to further their studies.

“I took the offer up and was accepted to University of Tampa. So in 1980, just after Hurricane Allen, I picked up the whole family and went to Tampa,” she said.

Geddes was back at sea and Tony, her eldest child was going to college at the same time. The two girls, Tanya who was 12½ and Trica who was 10½, went to school in Florida. “The first three months I didn’t think I was going to make it, but my parents and husband kept on encouraging me. Geddes was behind me 100 percent,” said Mrs Grant. “If I hadn’t gotten my degree then, I would have been out of the system a long time ago.”

Returning to the Brac in 1984, she started teaching at Creek Primary. In 1986, she became Senior Teacher and then in 1990 she was appointed Principal of Creek School.

Twelve years later in 2002, she took over from Georgene Lazzari as Education Officer for the Sister Islands, and when the new governance model for the education system was introduced in 2007, her title changed to Learning Community Leader (LCL).

Because the position was largely modeled on what was already happening in the Sister Islands, the changes were much easier for her than for the new LCLs on Grand Cayman, she noted.

As Education Officer, she was already familiar with all the children and all the teachers and had a good relationship with principals. Plus, the degree of interaction between primary and highs schools was already the norm on Cayman Brac.

Right now, education is changing quicker than ever before but these are good changes, especially on Cayman Brac, Mrs Grant believes. There is now more coordination with Grand Cayman, and new positions have been created to support teaching staff, such as a registration officer, a speech therapist, a facilities coordinator and a computer technician.

“Brac students do well but they could do better if they put their minds to it,” she said. The fact that students from this island so often shine is down to the size of the classes, the commitment of the teachers and involvement of parents and community as a whole.

She leaves with advice for all those in education on the Sister Islands. “To Tammy, I’d say stay calm, regardless of what happens. Trust in the Lord and put all problems in His hands and He will see you through. Teachers, be behind Ms Tammy 100 percent, and give her full cooperation.”

To parents she said, “You need to trust her and cooperate with her, and if you have any questions, give her a call and talk it out. I know that she will be there to solve any problems. She needs time to prove herself, which I know she will.”

And lastly, her advice to students: “Study hard and aim high. Let education be your priority in this life. Without a good education you won’t be able to cope when you leave school.”