Blue plaque bid to honour special education pioneer
TWO former teachers are applying for a blue plaque to honour Jessie de Garis, the founder of Guernsey’s first school for disabled children.
Miss de Garis, seen as a pioneer in the field, was the first headteacher of Floraville School, which opened in 1948.
And it is on that site, adjacent to Vauvert Primary School, that Yvonne Hodder and Pauline Garthwaite would like to see the plaque erected.
Mrs Hodder, who started the campaign, was education officer for special education between 1995-2005, and made the application despite never having actually met her predecessor.
‘I worked with so many people who revered her.
‘She was an icon for special needs education in Guernsey,’ she said.
‘I felt I had to work to her ethos, and do the very best for the children of the island.’
The idea for a blue plaque came after Mrs Hodder visited a display on celebrated women in Guernsey at the Priaulx Library, and realised Miss de Garis was not mentioned.
‘I started talking to some of the staff about her legacy and it was actually one of them who suggested going after a blue plaque.
‘She was ahead of her time, she wanted children to be in the mainstream of education wherever possible.
‘It was seen as a backward step to work with the disadvantaged.
‘She was working with no kudos.’
Miss de Garis died from cancer in 1984, just a year after she had retired.
As well as starting the school at Floraville House, she had taken the role of headteacher when the service moved to larger premises at Valnord School, and was appointed Guernsey’s first full-time educational psychologist in 1976, a role she held till her retirement.
The Guernsey Blue Plaque scheme recognises islanders who have made an important contribution to the Bailiwick and the wider world.
Started in 2008, there are currently 12, but only one of them is for a woman – Major Marie Ozanne, a member of the Salvation Army, who publicly protested about the treatment of prisoners of war during the occupation.
Pauline Garthwaite, former headteacher of special educational needs schools Oakvale, Valnord and the Longfield Centre, worked alongside Miss de Garis at the start of her career.
She described her as ‘an amazing person with vision and determination’.
‘She was absolutely committed to the welfare of the children,’ she said.
‘She was totally compassionate but without a tinge of sentimentality. Nothing stood in the way of the children’s welfare. I had the greatest respect for her.’
