New Tobago School Building

On March 1, 2017, 42 young students were instantly left stranded with no school. The principal of Campbell’s Preparatory School, a private primary school in Bon Accord, Tobago, unexpectedly notified the school’s parents, students and teachers via a WhatsApp message of her indefinite departure from Tobago and disappeared. The principal and owner had already left the country, removed essential items from the school, emptied the school bank account, and made no provisions for the students or staff – forcing most into significant hardship. Parents lost thousands in tuition money, teachers were unpaid as their salary checks bounced, and the students had no school to which to return the next day. To make matter worse, the landlord of the Campbell's school building locked the doors with books and supplies inside, refusing access to parents and teachers. 

“Just like that, with no warning, 42 students, all between the ages of 5 and 11 years, were left with nothing in terms of a school,” said Alison DeFreitas, a parent of a student at Campbell’s. “We had to scramble to try to recover our children’s books from the school building, wonder where we would find places for our children in the middle of the term, and braced to outlay more money for new tuition, uniforms, and books. It was a terrible situation we were forced into.”

A dozen parents quickly rallied together to secure the Campbell School’s teachers and organise a place for their children to continue their education with their beloved educators. After days of intense work and sacrifice of these parents, classes re-started for their children on Monday, March 6 at a new school, Tobago International Academy. 

“When the shock subsided some of us realized we needed another option for our children’s education,” said DeFreitas, also one of the founding parents of the new academy. “We also recognised that we had incredible teachers who we, and our kids, love and respect. The long hours and dedication of this parent group and teachers to create the Academy is astounding. All work was done voluntarily in addition to everyone’s normal everyday jobs. But to see the kids happy was worth every drop of sweat.”

The Academy's current rented building is a former daycare that was spruced up and equipped with items donated by the parents. Parents volunteer their time in the office to support the teachers and students.  One parent volunteers full-time as a principal until the Academy's income can support hiring one. 

“The school is a great collaboration with the teachers and parents,” said Rain Schneider, a founding parent. “The students really are the focus of everything we do, which fosters a wonderful learning environment in which the children are thriving.” 

The school’s Steering Committee President and Acting Principal Laura Cotton indicated that they have already received new enrollment for upcoming terms and that they are encouraged by the response. However, the current building cannot accommodate many more students and suitable buildings for a school are scarce in Tobago. 

“We are running on a very tight budget and the last thing we want to do is distrupt these children and the teachers any more." Cotton said. "Any help to help raise money to secure and outfit a new school building is so very much appreciated." 

Tobago International Academy was incorporated in Trinidad & Tobago in March and the parents have started the process to formally register the school with the Ministry of Education.

"There still is a lot of work to do and we aren’t naïve to the challenges but our children are worth it," Cotton said. "The need for quality education in Tobago is real and instead of waiting for others to do something about it, we mustered up the guts to do it.  We look forward to growing Tobago International Academy into a stalwart academy that will open students' horizons past the 115 square miles of Tobago.”