Dr Dena Lister was yesterday named as principal of Dame Marjorie Bean Hope Academy.The Ministry of Education said she had been acting in the role of principal at the special school in Devonshire since 2008.A press release said: “Dr Lister is an educational veteran with more than 25 years experience in the Bermuda public school system, beginning her career as a special-education teacher at the Cedar Grove School in 1984.“She has over eight years experience serving in a leadership capacity.”The Royal Gazette asked the Ministry in February whether a principal had been appointed at the school and was told: “The Ministry has no comment on the matter.”We reported at the time that Dr Lister was listed on the Ministry’s website as principal but there had never been an official announcement about the appointment to staff, parents or the public.A job advert was posted on the Ministry’s website in spring 2008, inviting applications for the $109,000-a-year post from qualified teachers with a “master’s degree in education with specialisation in severe multiple challenges or the equivalent” and ten years teaching experience.The school’s last principal, Bonnie McGlynn, left the publicly-funded school in summer 2008 and Dr Lister, a former Sandys Secondary Middle School deputy principal, took over as acting principal in September that year.According to the Ministry’s Policies and Procedures Manual for Principals, issued in April 2006, acting appointments should “not normally exceed two years” though this can be extended in exceptional circumstances.Useful website: www.moed.bm.