‘There will still be dust, we are a construction site, keep building’- Hon de Castro
Delivering the keynote address at the official opening ceremony of EDFEST VI on Monday, August 24, 2026, at the Multi-Purpose Sports Complex, Minister de Castro framed the territory's educational journey as an evolving construction project that requires continuous dedication and resilience.
A Blueprint for Resilience
Addressing a packed room of educators and stakeholders, Hon de Castro stated, “Educators, we are doing great work, and we cannot come down. “There will still be dust. We are a construction site. Keep building.”
The Minister emphasised that wherever it is discovered that something needs strengthening, strengthen it, and keep building. “When the work feels heavier than the progress, keep building. When the plan has to change, learn, adjust, and keep building.”
She further urged teachers to focus their energy wherever support is most urgently required: “When the data shows us a gap, build there. When a child is struggling, build there. When an educator needs support, build there. When the system itself needs to change, build there.”
'Remember the child'
The minister reminded educators that despite the noise, remember the child,
“And when the noise around the work becomes loud, remember why we are on the work in the first place,” Hon de Castro urged. “Remember the child.”
She highlighted the transformative potential present within local classrooms, emphasising that today’s students represent the future leaders, innovators, and problem-solvers of the Virgin Islands.
“Because somewhere in one of our classrooms right now is a child who will solve a problem these Virgin Islands have not yet been able to solve,” she remarked. “Somewhere is a child who will create something that does not yet exist. Somewhere is a child who will change an industry, transform a community, or build something none of us in our wildest dreams has imagined as yet. And perhaps they will do it because somebody sitting in this room helped them believe, ‘I could be the one.’”
Reflecting on Progress and Looking Ahead
She added that four years ago she asked teachers to give more, and their ‘more’ has made many things possible. “Today, I am asking you, I am asking us, to do one very simple thing: Keep building.”
She outlined a holistic vision for student development, calling for an educational framework that nurtures identity, ability, and civic purpose.
“Keep building children who know who they are and what they carry,” Hon de Castro concluded. “Keep building children with the knowledge, skills, character, and confidence to make a difference. Keep building a system worthy of their potential. Keep building the Virgin Islands; we know it is possible. Educators, somebody is becoming because you kept building, and the Virgin Islands is becoming because we collectively kept building...Educators, let's keep building.”
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