Minister On Changes For 2012/2013 School Year

Good Morning.

As I often remind the public, there are many good things happening in Education and today I will share a few of those “good things” with you.

You will have noticed that I am flanked by weary Department of Education staff; they are weary as a result of tough consultation with the BUT – but in good spirits because this is an exciting time in Education.

Yesterday was one of the most important days in our calendar – the 31st of May is the date set by the Bermuda Union of Teachers’ Collective Bargaining Agreement for all permanent staff to be told if they are going to be transferred.

The changes that are taking place in Education are designed to re-professionalise the landscape of teaching and learning in the classroom by ensuring that teachers have the support of job-embedded professional development to improve the quality of teaching for better student outcomes.

These changes are the product of time, effort and consultation; with the Bermuda Union of Teachers and the Association of School Principals.

Our unions continue to drive a hard bargain and in many cases compromises were struck.

The changes that will take place for the 2012/2013 school year are designed to support and develop teacher leaders.

The job description for deputy principals was rewritten to enhance instructional leadership and following a recruitment exercise, most schools will have new deputy principals who will form part of the shared leadership at each school.

Teachers are lifelong learners and in order to strengthen their content knowledge in the Cambridge core subjects of mathematics, English and science, the Department will introduce coaching positions created to drive content delivery for student success at the primary and middle school levels.
Mentor teachers normally provide orientation and instructional support for new teachers; but as of the next school year their duties will include working with developing teachers, as well as with schools in need of support.

New ‘teacher leader’ posts will replace ‘scale posts’ at the primary and middle school levels. The new role will emphasise teacher leadership in each of the core subject areas of math, science, language arts and social studies. Recruitment for these posts will begin next week.

Even with the increased P1 enrolment, there are more teachers at the primary level than there are classes. However, we are committed to ensuring that no permanent staff are made redundant.

As a result, some of these teachers have been redeployed to fill vacancies and others to serve as support teachers providing relief support for teaching and learning and instructional growth.

The use of support teachers will reduce the need for some substitute teachers, thereby making this a budget savings too.

I have previously stated that the Ministry of Education would reduce our budget through attrition. We have put this commitment into action across the board with the Bermuda Union of Teachers, the Bermuda Public Services Union and the Bermuda Industrial Union.

These moves have been made for reasons of equity, professional renewal, teaching level alignment, subject area needs and teacher expertise. Paraprofessional transfers and some counselling transfers have also been made, in keeping with student and school needs.

I am proud that a number of people in our public schools have now become certified, thereby reducing the number of uncertified teachers. The remaining uncertified personnel are on track to be fully certified by the end of this calendar year.

As we continue to transform and strengthen the organisational structure and staffing in Bermuda’s public schools we never forget that the fundamental purpose of the education system is student achievement; and student achievement is the driving force behind the changes being made.

Sometimes, in the larger discourse, we lose sight of the importance of teaching – not just teaching – but quality teaching. Our job in Education is to ensure that every day in every school, students receive effective instruction.

The Commissioner of Education has defined teacher leadership as the process by which teachers (individually or collectively) influence their colleagues, principals, and other members of the school community to improve instruction.

Ladies and gentlemen these staffing changes are consistent with our plan to improve teaching and learning. All decisions and actions are aligned with student achievement. The benefits for students, schools and the system are numerous.

Thank you for your support as we continue to work to ensure success in our schools.

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