EDUCATION REFORM: The key to opportunity and economic empowerment for our children.

A good quality education is the key to empowering Bermuda’s children. Nothing else comes close to ensuring that they will be able to compete successfully for jobs and opportunity.

Yet the education system in Bermuda is in crisis. After almost a decade of presiding over dramatic deterioration in our schools, the PLP government finally admitted it. Now it’s time for urgently needed reform before another generation of schoolchildren is sent off undereducated and unable to grasp the opportunities they deserve.

The United Bermuda Party agrees with much of what was recommended in the May 2007 Hopkins Report. It contained few surprises; after all, many of the recommendations were contained in our 2003 platform. We question, however, whether Premier Brown’s government can successfully implement the recommendations, given the lack of trust, lack of communication and lack of urgency demonstrated to date.

The process of reforming the education system will be complex and require hundreds of changes, large and small. Its success will depend not only on competent oversight but also the cooperation and good will of those working within the system, as well as parents and students.

The United Bermuda Party plan for education reform is guided by five basic principles. We present them along with highlights of what is required to move ahead in each area.

Demand excellence in teaching

• There will be a licensed teacher in every classroom and teacher-effectiveness assessments will be administered regularly to measure performance.
• We will allocate significantly more funds to teacher training, teacher mentoring and teacher salaries in return for greater accountability for performance.
• We will set higher standards for teacher recruitment.
• We will require annual training for all teachers and establish master teachers.
• We will provide greater opportunities for leadership and management training for principals.
• Training in advanced behavioural management skills will be required for all educators to maintain a healthy level of discipline in our schools.

Set the highest standards for student, school and administrative performance and demand accountability.

• We will create an independent assessment authority separate from the Ministry of Education— to test student achievement and school performance on an annual basis. The results will be published and available to the public at any time.
• Achievement levels of all students will be tested regularly and consistently against international standards.
• We will require schools to survey parents on satisfaction levels every year.

Recognize school readiness as a key factor in academic success.

• We will expand government pre-school availability and enhance their quality to ensure school readiness for all children and a head start in their school careers.
• We will enable universal pre-school education by providing funding for families in need.
• We will increase early screening for learning deficiencies.

Provide greater autonomy and responsibility to each school.

• We will establish local school boards for each school with responsibility for operations, staffing and site-specific performance.
• We will create a dedicated, specialist team for each school that provides academic, study skills, social and behavioral support to both students and their parents.
• We will decentralize the Ministry of Education, leaving a core group to provide oversight for funding, teacher licensing, school accreditation and coordination of both academic and technical programmes from primary through Bermuda College levels.

Restore a comprehensive and integrated programme for technical education from middle school through Bermuda College.

• We will hold the Ministry of Education responsible for coordinating an integrated programme for technical education from middle school through Bermuda College.
• We will provide a headquarters for technical education by creating a National Technical Training Institute at the Bermuda College along with a technical assessment centre.
• We will create a pool of Bermudian instructors in Bermuda, so they are prepared when the Training Institute is completed, by creating a 3-year partnership with an organisation such as the Alberta (Institute) of Industry and Trade.
• We will create a new National Technical Education and Workforce Development Agency as an umbrella agency to replace the National Training Board and run the expanded technical education programme.
• We will ensure that technical education remains relevant to Bermuda by working with the Construction Association, the BIU and industry partners.
• Ensure an adequate number of paraprofessionals to meet the demand of learning-challenged students.
• Develop a proper facility for the care and support of special needs children.

The United Bermuda Party believes there are additional ways to make our education system more responsive to the needs of parents and students. We will:

• Establish a National Physical Fitness Programme, coordinated by the Departments of Health and Education, to set standards for exercise and diet beginning at the primary-school level.
• Require that music, art, drama and sports be fully integrated into the curriculum and lengthen the school day to better accommodate these and other activities.
• Carry out a review of mainstreaming in our public schools to evaluate successes and failures and then implement any needed changes.
• To ensure no one is denied access to higher learning, grant up to $15,000 per year in an interest-free loan for any student studying at the college level who needs additional financial assistance providing:
  • They have done two years at Bermuda College, or
  • They are going into their third year.