Quenita Walrond-Lewis is the new Director of the National Centre for Educational Resource Development (NCERD) and will begin in her new position on October 1.
According to a Ministry of Education release yesterday, Walrond-Lewis is an education consultant and project manager by profession, and has worked with the Ministry of Education to develop the three key levels – nursery, primary, and secondary. She has also worked with education stakeholders nationally and regionally and in her work in Early Childhood Development (ECD) she has built critical linkages with other governmental and non-governmental ECD stakeholders in Guyana, as well as the regional CARICOM ECD working group. She also liaises with key stakeholders within the Ministry of Education both centrally and regionally concerning the execution of education initiatives nationwide.
The new director holds a Bachelor of Science with Honours in Psychology and a Master of Arts in Child Study and Education from the University of Toronto. Before returning to Guyana in 2012, she was a classroom educator in both special education and general education environments; and as an Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto (Mississauga campus). She has also worked as a Parent Educator, instilling and sharing best practices in Early Childhood Education, as well as serving as a critical positive link between families, the community, and the school system.
Upon her return to Guyana, Walrond-Lewis joined NCERD, where she worked with colleagues to reignite the then dormant Nursery Unit of the Curriculum Division of the entity. This unit is now one of the most vibrant areas of the institution. Over the past seven years, she has developed and co-created classroom-based assessment, monitoring and evaluation tools, and teaching resources to be used at the Nursery, Primary, and Secondary level by teachers, head teachers, and education officers. She has also provided capacity building experiences for in-service teachers and administrators, as well as education officers, to support their use of pedagogical best practices.
Walrond-Lewis has authored publications relating to Early Childhood Education in Guyana, the country’s first Nursery Diagnostic Assessment, and edited the revised Roraima Reader Series. She also co-authored the Nursery Sector Action Plan for the Education Strategic Plan 2014-2018; and co-created an award-winning awareness campaign for the citizenry about the importance of nursery education; and the fundamental role parent engagement plays in this process to foster a strengthened and literate society.
Commenting on her return to NCERD, Walrond-Lewis said it is “… both an honour and privilege” and acknowledged the significance the institution holds for the propulsion of education development in Guyana. NCERD is described as the ‘nerve centre’ of the Ministry because it is the locus of education innovation, research, and tangible solutions for driving positive education outcomes for learners throughout the country.
Walrond-Lewis expressed her gratitude for the mentorship and collegial support she has enjoyed from her predecessor, Jennifer Cumberbatch and is looking forward to the continuation of the strong partnerships she has enjoyed with the officers across the sector, the release added.
