In celebration of its 40th anniversary this year, El Instituto de Mandevilla will host a fundraising homecoming awards banquet in an effort to construct a bridge connecting the two campuses in Mandeville.

With over 400 students currently enrolled at the Christian-centred institution, the building of the
bridge is in line with the strategic objectives of enhancing safety and security on an ongoing basis on the campus.

Principal Dr Faithlyn Wilson explained that it was the dream of the school’s founder, Audrey Salmon, to host a homecoming event on reaching its 20th anniversary, however, this did not materialise in 2004.

“It didn’t happen then and it has been a dream to host such an event since then. In addition, we believe our present staff, students, parents, alumni, past parents and friends of El Instituto would like to see a bridge connecting both of our campuses. We have designated this the ‘GOLD Project’ and are also using the event to raise funds for the project,” Wilson said.

“Our target for this event is J$5 million even though we know the project will cost much more. The implementation of this project will make traversing the two campuses easier for all and enhance safety,” she added.

El Instituto de Mandevilla began as an evening language institute in 1978 offering help with Spanish for
students struggling with the language in the public school system.

Salmon, a trained Spanish teacher, had worked for nearly twenty years in the public education system and recognised the challenges students faced—conceptualising a curriculum that helped them gain distinctions in high school external examinations.

Salmon established El Instituto de Mandevilla Kindergarten and Preparatory School with 13 students, growing quite significantly since then.

“Today, we are the only private school in our region with an electronic school and learning management system (SmartTerm) to which all students, parents, teachers have access. The impact of this strategic decision became even more relevant as we had to depend heavily of technology during the pandemic,” Wilson said.

The school is one of two preparatory schools in the region to be officially registered by Early Childhood Commission (ECC).

The students have been awarded five government scholarships since 2017 and last year, its head girl was the top Primary Exit Profile (PEP) student for Manchester, with the ‘most outstanding record’ in Region 5. Fifty-four Grade 6 students sat the last PEP Exam in April 2024.

“The coronavirus pandemic brought with it many challenges. While still on the path to recovery, we are grateful for how much we have overcome and that we are still moving forward,” Dr Wilson said.

“We invite those who share our vision to continue with us on this journey and to envision with us an overhead bridge, to connect the two campuses, a more technologically robust learning environment, a school bus to enhance extra-curricular activities and learning experiences and a family that continues to care. A family that walks by faith and therefore, is not afraid to change in order to remain relevant so that we can continue our legacy of excellence,” the principal added.

The banquet, scheduled for next Saturday (June 1) at the Golf View Hotel in Mandeville, promises be a dazzling display of the El Instituto de Mandevilla family, those past, present and future who have contributed to the development and success of the school over the years.

Popular social media sensation Juliet ‘Julie Mango’ Bodley and attorney Danielle Archer, both past students, will serve as emcee and keynote speaker respectively.