Dr. Evans Appointed Commissioner Of Education
[Updated] The Board of Education announced that Dr. Freddie Evans has been appointed to the post of Commissioner of Education in the Department of Education.
“Dr. Evans has taught and served in the Bermuda public school system for more than 25 years. He is a graduate of Jackson State University and received his Doctorate in Education Administration and Development [Ed. D.] from Seton Hall University in New Jersey,” the announcement said.
“His experience includes Assistant Principal at Clark High School for the Plano Independent School District in Plano, Texas; Principal of the Whitney Institute Middle School; Assistant Director of Educational Standards and Accountability in the Department of Education; Acting Director Educational Standards and Accountability; and, most recently Acting Commissioner of Education.”
The Board of Education Chairman, Mr. Curtis Dickinson said, “On behalf of the Board members we congratulate Dr. Evans on his new appointment. We look forward to working with him, and supporting him in leading the Bermuda Public School System.”
“Dr. Evans has been associated with a number of projects and key initiatives in the Department of Education during the past year. One of his immediate work tasks will be to lead the development of a multi-year transformative Strategic Plan for the Public School System with implementation during the next academic school year.”
Update March 7, 8.30am: Shadow Minister of Education Lovitta Foggo said, “The Progressive Labour Party would like to congratulate Dr. Freddie Evans on his appointment to the post of Commissioner of Education.
“The PLP has consistently advocated that there are Bermudians in senior positions of education, with decades of experience, who have suitability for such a position. Our voice was in concert, with both the broader public and education professionals, when we lamented that it was crucial that we demonstrate the importance of education by ensuring that there was representation at the helm. This appointment, by the current Board of Education, serves as a testament to that end.
“We will work with Dr. Evans on every front to ensure success in the advancement of the Bermuda education system. As Shadow Minister of Education, I look forward to meeting with Dr. Evans regarding such. We all want the best for Bermuda’s students.”
Excellent news.
It took them this long to figure it out, after they knew that de guy they wanted to pick would’ve caused more protest.
No one else wanted it.
Comes with great pay and benefits.
Good luck.
Terry I’m not sure if you’re retarded or mentally sick Troll.
Try both.
This wonderful news and well deserved. Congratulations!
About time!
Best wishes. It took too long. Now let’s get going with the new minister who is just passing through. The best person for the job was Bermuda born Dr. Gina Tucker. Non-the-less all hands on board, public education has to do better.
“public education has to do better.” Be sure that the DOE gets the memo. Right there in those offices are his biggest stumbling blocks.
Actually the biggest decider to a successful education starts at home, you could have a world class education system, but if you have parent/s at home that don’t support, or even discourage, their child’s education, that child is more likely to fail in school, and even be disability to other children’s education.
I agree, but de said part is when you have successful Bermudians that graduate from College and Universty they cant get a job in their own country.
Want to debate about that?
Within your statement lies the answer, ‘graduate from college and university’. But most of the IB companies aren’t looking for graduates, they are looking for experience. If you look at every successful Bermudian in top IB positions, most of them you will find started out somewhere other than Bermuda, they started at the very bottom, worked 50/60/70+ hours a week in the beginning and came back here… and still work long weeks. IB isn’t a 9 – 5 industry, it is a meet you goals in timelines industry.
Very true, but the home is a domain that he will have very little influence over. The lack of parenting has been a problem for generations now.
Education begins the day you’re born, and the first teachers are a child’s family. By the time they reach school age, the attitude towards learning has already been established. A program of support and encouragement for parents can go a long way towards ensuring children have more productive school years, especially for parents whose own school years were less than successful. Learning can and should be exciting, but this depends not only on good teachers but also on good parenting and support from the community in which a child lives.
Bermuda has neither a world class system *nor* a pro-education culture. The new minister has to improve the product and get people to value it more.
Can I like this comment a trillion times? Parents do your job, teachers do your job…everyone wins!
Did Lew or Lou want the job? They are actually the Directors, Freddie was the Assisting Director.
Long time coming. .. congratulations Mr.Evans!!
There is only one problem with this appointment , and that is the Board has searched around the world for a candidate to fill this post just to come back to Bermuda . They are and were too afraid to SELECT A BERMUDIAN FROM THE BEGINNING . Now something is wrong with that.! ! We are still only second best in our own country. Mr. Trump is not afraid to say America First . We are too afraid to say it in Bermuda.
Even though you have poor political judgement, you make a valid point.
When will a good point be accepted, just because it is a good point ? Being OBA makes a good point bad ? Something is wrong with that .
Busy day for you yettb
As far as I’m concerned, when it comes to the future of our children, it should always be about finding the best in the world for them, not just the best in Bermuda. Nationalistic dogma has never lifted a country to better standards and success, an education in history proves that over and over.
I agree, but Historically in Bermuda its ALWAYS been Betmudians being neglected from top jobs, but they leave de Island and are revered in other countries.
Something wrong with this picture.
In a very monocular view, perhaps, but there is a larger history of successful Bermudians in top jobs, leading this country in many of its industries. Too many focus on the cases where a Bermudian hasn’t, instead of counting where a Bermudian has. There simply isn’t statistically enough Bermudians to fill the top positions of every field, and when it comes to running this country and educating our children, I would prefer the world’s best, over just who happens to be Bermuda’s best. If they are one in the same, hurrah, but it should always be the target for who is best.
So, We can find a foreigner better than you to replace you at your job, because we only want the best. How silly do you sound.???
If he’s a teacher, that’s fine. Desirable.
We are frightened. Fraidy cats and we saw both parties do it over and over because we are Colonized and we never measure up. We never weigh a pound. We are always 9 ounces. And we wonder why there is so much anger out here and more to come. Fraudy cats. But we are watching. We can no longer be fooled.
Well said.
@ rodney, Donald is not afraid to say a whole lot, most of which doesn’t make sense.
“We are too afraid to say it in Bermuda.” LOL Have you every listened to the show for 10 seconds? Bermudians claim to be victims constantly, every day, in public, over and over. It’s the most nationalistic, anti-immigrant place I have ever been to. It makes Trump look like an immigration softie.
Trump didn’t propose to refuse citizenship to children of legal immigrants, but every day there is a child born in Bermuda who is denied any rights at all. Bermuda doesn’t deport dependent children of legal immigrants on their 18th birthday, like Bermuda does. Trump hasn’t abolished any way for legal immigrants to gain permanent residence, like Bermuda has. Trump doesn’t ban immigrants from buying land, like Bermuda does. Trump doesn’t ban immigrants from owning their own companies, like Bermuda does.
Afraid to say “Bermudians First”? Bermudians say it so much, they are all hoarse.
Very well said. Bermudians have their heads so far up their rectum it is pathetic.
Rodney, it’s more than selecting a Bermudian. There are assessments to be passed. There are other criteria……to make the selection objective not biased. Now let’s see what Dr. Evans can do. Starting with accountability and morale.
This is rare, but Rodney is right.
We’ve bought into this notion that NO Bermudians (especially Black) are fit to hold top jobs in Bermuda,and this is a Historical sickness that needs to be eradicated.
So you expect for us to believe that de Islands in de Caribbean have MOST of their Generational Citizens working in Hospitality and holding TOP jobs in industries, but in Bermuda we are not educated or intellegent enough to be proud citizens and be treated with respect.
The difference is they became Indepenent in their thinking without being held hostage to Colonial restraint and economic racism.
The Truth is an offence but not a sin.
OJ is a perfect example of what I said above
Realist you are talking nonsense. In your own field if you were overlooked you would be the first to cry foul. When will you and so many others stand with us and not against us. You keep raising the bar and we jumper 6 inches higher but we are never good enough. Then you tell us we are not capable or we have the wring colour shoes. Ain’t that right
Rodney
There’s an intangible quality to having a ‘qualified’ Bermudian in post. You think the prior Commissioner hired from overseas really gives a hoot about our public education system? Where is he now? How long did he stay in post? You think he’s lost any sleep over it? These people have no vested interest in Bermuda, it’s a pit-stop and notch on the CV for some of them. As well as more money than they’ll dream of making in their country, in all likelihood. I’d bet that’s driving the decision to come here, not Bermuda’s children and the state of our public system.
I would expect Dr. Evans, who has spent decades in our public system teaching and mentoring children (both in the classroom and on the basketball court as I can personally attest to), as a Bermudian to have a far greater and vested interest in seeing public education move forward, as well as have his pulse on the community and kids in a way someone from the outside would not. If he’s spent the past several months acting, unless he was proving himself incapable during that tenure I’m not sure why the search needed to expand overseas anyway. I understand the concept that we need the best person for a job and that’s not necessarily a local in all cases, but we seem to have cultivated a mentality in Bermuda that foreign expertise is inherently superior to home-grown talent.
I wish Dr. Evans success in his new position.
But we where ready to select the foreigner from England ? STOP IT. BERMUDA WE ARE BEING PLAYED . You go around the world to find a man , who just happens to be doing the job for two years. ?? Stop it. Enough is enough . We are still second class in our own country.
We all want the best for Bermuda’s students…
The very nature of having a 2 tiered system means we have 2 levels of education resulting in 2 levels of Bermudians….
The cost of a PUBLIC EDUCATION to the taxpayer is more per head than sending a student to a private school – with substandard facilities and results (in general) – This is hardly acceptable.
Until all kids have an EQUAL level of Education we will continue the divide in Bermuda.
I hope the new Commissioner will recognize that the bloated public school administration – DoE must be completely streamlined. Teacher qualification must be scrutinized and standardized.
The first thing I would like to see is a MISSION and VISION statement from the new Commissioner.
Does the new Commissioner support in principle the creation of an EDUCATION AUTHORITY ?