After presiding over a tough chapter in the school’s history, Saltus head Ted Staunton anticipates a happy retirement back in his native Canada.His four-year term marked a restructuring for Saltus, including significant cutbacks.“Things are, in the words of the [school] board, on track,” Mr Staunton reflected.By all indications, whoever succeeds him will be expected to keep it that way.After heading three schools, the last being St Andrew’s College in Canada, Mr Staunton found Saltus in need of change.“You look for what I call stability factors,” he explained. “The first one I noticed was that some administrative posts were filled by people who really didn’t know their job to the extent that I wanted them to.”He added: “We were very fortunate in managing to get the right people, and they made a huge difference.”Nonetheless, he said: “You need to have a tough skin when you’re making fundamental changes.”Recognising that the Island was “a very competitive market and Bermuda was going through a difficult stage”, Mr Staunton said his next step was performance and accountability.“A faculty appraisal programme was put in which entailed a peer observation meeting to discuss objectives, then classroom observation,” he said.“One of the first things I did was to bring together representatives from the Saltus community faculty, staff, alumni, the board, parents and students to brainstorm about why we existed because there was not a clear, succinct mission statement.”A few months later, the school had “a well constructed mission statement on exactly why we’re here”.Those values are listed on the school’s website: academic excellence, personal integrity and service to others.Mr Staunton included “independent thinking” as he recounted them.“Everything we’ve done — and I’m very encouraged by the results — has focused on those.”In particular, academic results have improved “dramatically”, he said.“We have a 15 percent increase in success rates at the GCSE. Our best ever was 89 percent so we surpassed Warwick Academy. BHS had 91 percent. The way we’re going, I am confident we’ll be in the mid to low 90s next year.”Aside from parental expectations for Saltus to “get its act together in terms of academics”, Mr Staunton acted on what he saw.“When I got in here, I found it fairly lax in terms of behaviour, the uniforms, the children’s appearance — all of those send a signal.“When you walk on the campus now, it looks good. The signal is clear. Students are pleasant, well dressed — that’s why people pay tuition.“If the grass isn’t cut and the children don’t look like they’re enjoying life at school, you’re not going to attract any students.”Student numbers was another issue, he said.“The school had 1,153 students when I arrived. Just from experience, I felt that it was far too large for us to really address the needs of each and every student. So we had a strategic planning with outside consultants and we put together a game plan for Saltus to downsize to 900 by 2013.“We’re on track. We’re currently 931, and we got ahead of the recession curve.”Less students also meant less staff. In January, 2010, the former Centre for Learning shed five; head of secondary John Walsh was also made redundant.Prominent Saltus benefactor Francis (Goose) Gosling had wished for a permanent resource centre catering to students with learning disabilities, and when the school invested an ambitious $12.5 million building the Gosling Centre in 2006, a special facility was envisaged within it.The problem, Mr Staunton said, was that “when I arrived, the philosophy was changing. Taking children out of the classroom was not the way”.The Centre for Learning is now the Academic Services Department. With its reassessment came the recognition that Saltus, as “a college and university preparation school”, could not be “a school for every child”, Mr Staunton said.Asked how long the school would be paying off the Gosling Centre, the Saltus head preferred not to comment.“Nobody could look into a crystal ball and say there was going to be an economic recession in Bermuda like it’s never seen before,” he observed.With the downturn, “people are stretched. Tuitions are a sore point”, he said.“You have parents working flat out to send their children here. So I feel a huge sense of responsibility to justify tuition.”He admitted being “overwhelmed” by the emotional response when he announced his retirement.“I’ve never experienced anything like that,” he said. “Parents have told me their son or daughter can’t wait to come to school. What a great endorsement.”Mr Staunton speculated that his successor would be a current sitting head.A selection committee has been assembled, consultants will advertise locally and then internationally, and interviewing will start “in early November, with a selection in December”, he said.He added: “I turn 65 next month. While 65 is supposed to be the new 55, it’s still 40 years with private, independent schools.”With his wife, Jane, Mr Staunton is settling on 109 acres of farmland near Peterborough, Ontario.While it won’t be a working farm, driving the tractor ranks high in Mr Staunton’s retirement plans.“It’s as good a time as any for a transition,” he mused. “The era of heads staying for 20 years in one school is gone. I don’t think it’s a good thing anyway.“Any longer than eight to ten years is not good for an institution.”l Useful website: www.saltus.bm.