PUBLIC SERVICE IN EDUCATION, WORK IN CHURCH ACKNOWLEDGED
Prominent St Ann Educator and head of Hillcove High Achievers Preparatory School, Adita Laurel Sherwood, has been awarded the Prime Minister’s Medal of Appreciation.
She was one of 70 awardees from across the country recognized for their contribution in various areas and levels of education at a ceremony at Jamaica House on Wednesday, May 28, 2025.
(Adita Sherwood receives a congratulatory handshake from Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness while being presented with the Prime Minister’s Award)
The award is the latest to be earned by Mrs Sherwood and follows on the Governor General’s Achievement Award, presented to her in July 2024. She was one of three awardees from St Ann recognized then by the GG.
(Adita Sherwood with daughter Sophia Kirkland at Jamaica House)
The citation accompanying the Prime Minister’s Medal, said in part: “Mrs Adita Laurel Sherwood is a retired Education Officer as well as the founder and proprietor of Hillcove Preparatory School in Brown’s Town, St Ann…During her tenure at the Ministry of Education and Youth, as it was known then, she partnered with Breezes Runaway Bay Resort, and introduced a series of workshops to address the poor literacy rates in the parishes of St Ann, St Mary and Trelawny. She was also the conceptualizer behind Project Read, which eventually became the National Summer Reading Project and then the National Reading Project. The initiative assisted teachers in managing literacy deficits in their students.”
The citation also identified other groundbreaking work she did with the Grade 4 Literacy Summer Programme to help children at the non-mastery level.
Beyond Education, it also acknowledged Mrs Sherwood’s work with young people in the Brown’s Town Seventh Day Adventist Church. The citation concluded: “Adita Sherwood has been without question an achiever par excellence for more than 50 years.”
(A proud moment for Adita Sherwood at the Awards)
Asked how she felt about the latest award, Mrs Sherwood said: “I feel that my 53 years of service to education and my country have paid off and have been recognized, and I feel honoured.”
Mrs Sherwood holds A certificate and diploma in Primary Education, B.Ed (Hons.) in Early Childhood Education, a Master of Arts Degree in Education and an Advanced Certificate in Management. She founded Hillcove in 2006, following her career at Brown’s Town Infant School, where she worked for 26 years.
(JIS Photos)
IN THIS SHORT VODEO CLIP ADITA SHERWOOD RECEIVES THE PRIME MINISTER’S MEDAL. WATCH
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