After her first week on the job as principal at St. John's Guy Benjamin School, veteran educator Blanche O. Bello pronounced her new assignment "an excellent opportunity to learn about the school, the students and the island."
Dr. Bello, a St. Thomas resident, was named to assume the administrative leadership of the Coral Bay elementary school following the recent early retirement of Principal Ronalyn David.
Guy Benjamin PTA board member Yolandra Richards, welcoming the new principal, said, "We're glad she's here. She shows a lot of interest and commitment."
As a newcomer to the island and the school, Bello said, her first task is to observe. And one of her first observations is that, "Teachers are doing an excellent job. They are caring and sensitive to students needs."
Initially, she said, her two primary concerns "are raising test scores and instituting professional development."
Bello said she sees a need for encouraging professional development among the teaching staff to bring curriculum standards into play with day-to-day teaching in order to to improve pupils' test scores. "Classroom Connections is an accepted teaching methodology that translates concepts into what we want students to master," she said. "That will be one of my first priorities and approaches."
Bello is well positioned to bring her vision into reality. A 23-year Education Department employee, she wrote the proposal that gave rise to the New Horizons alternative school on St. Thomas. With a doctorate degree from the University of Illinois, she was most recently a principal on special assignment.
The Benjamin School, serving pupils in kindergarten through fifth grade, is one of the smallest in the territory, with a student body of fewer than 100, six teachers and two paraprofesionals. David was one of three principals in the St. Thomas-St. John district who elected to take early retirement by Dec. 18 under the Public Employees Voluntary Separation Incentive Act. She had been principal at the Coral Bay school since the start of this school year.
According to Bellow, "There is a definite caring and positive environment at this school." She added, "I intend to improve on that."