A group of 14 local teachers returned from a US middle school conference last week, eager to see Government's plans for middle schools implemented.

One of the teachers, St. George's Secondary deputy principal Mr. Derek Tully, said: "I was impressed by the way Americans have structured their education system around middle schools.'' Mr. Tully, who is a member of Bermuda Middle School Association, said he believed middle schools would work in Bermuda "if people want it to work''.

"`I was with 8,000 teachers, administrators, and counsellors who believe in middle level education,'' he stressed. "Those 8,000 people can't be wrong.

And if 200 teachers have trained here as well, they can't be wrong.'' Mr. Tully, along with other staff from St. George's, Sandys Secondary, Whitney Institute, Warwick Secondary, and a Somerset Primary teacher, joined educators from across the US at the National Middle School Association conference in San Antonio, Texas.

The conference, which ran from November 5 to 8, featured workshops and guest speakers, including former National PTA president Mrs. Ann Lynch and former San Antonio Mayor Mr. Henry Cisneros who is tipped to become part of US President-elect Bill Clinton's White House staff.

Mr. Tully, who served on team one of the Education Planning Team, said he visited two successful middle schools each of which had more than 1,000 students.

Both placed emphasis on team teaching and core subjects.

Team teaching refers to a child having a team of teachers for his or her core subjects. The group of teachers meet each day for progress reports on children.

Mr. Tully pointed out that this contrasted with high schools where "it is possible for a teacher never to know the progress a child is making until it comes to report card time''.

Then, he said, "a teacher may note with some degree of curiosity the comments of other teachers on the report card''.

Mr. Tully said at both schools the emphasis was always on team teaching and the advisor/advisee system -- which involves a small group of children meeting with their teacher each morning for chats or class projects.

Mr. Tully, who also has studied the work of the middle school at Roger B.

Chaffee, thanked St. George's principal Mr. Dale Butler and Roger B. Chaffee principal Dr. Tom Smith.

He said in 1989, Dr. Smith noted "with some concern'' that the grades of many children suffered in various degrees on entering high school.

"He concluded rightly that the jump from one teacher in an elementary school to many teachers in a high school in a strict academic setting was causing too much academic stress for a child at that stage,'' said Mr. Tully.

"After much research by himself and his staff, Dr. Smith decided to set up a middle school in Roger B. Chaffee.

MR. DEREK TULLY -- `8,000 people can't be wrong.'