Four school principals will be moved different schools, the Education Minister announced this morning.Dame Jennifer Smith made a statement to MPs at the House of Assembly.She said: “Mr Speaker, in reviewing the needs of the system and individuals, four transfers will take place effective for the upcoming 2012/2013 school year.“Some may call this making change slowly Mr Speaker, while we do want to ensure that system needs are addressed, too much change at one time would not be good for the system.“These transfers match the strengths of the individual Principals with the needs of the schools to which they will be appointed. We believe the matches will be positive ones for the schools, the staff and the students.“Principals will be informed of these decisions in the coming days and once this is done, the details will be shared with the public.“Mr Speaker, these are bold moves that have proven to be successful in jurisdictions that have successfully changed student outcomes in their schools. This year marks a significant change, where deputy principals will be hired across the system as opposed to being hired by a Principal to work in a particular school.”This is the statement in full:Mr. Speaker, by now the entire country knows that the Ministry of Education’s Mission is to “raise the quality of teaching and learning….”Mr. Speaker, we are a small community, and we recognise that it is imperative that we maximise the strengths and talents of all of our staff. This means that where there are riches, we have to share those riches to bring about equity and improve outcomes.We intend to do this by supporting schools and building capacity in school leaders and teachers, thus maximising the performance of all of those persons who interact with our students.Mr. Speaker, key to this focus is the need to connect teaching and learning to the needs of our stakeholders. While there is room to debate the components of teaching and learning, all should agree that we must first ensure that there is no gap across schools in student achievement.Mr. Speaker, the Commissioner of Education, Directors, Assistant Directors, Curriculum and Education Officers are all in schools, meeting with school leaders and working with teachers to address any impediments to teaching and learning.As a result, we have established our priorities for the upcoming school year as:1. Student Achievement/Needs ensuring that we focus on improving outcomes and addressing student needs;2. Fair Resource Distribution ensuring equity across schools sharing the talent to raise standards in all schools;3. Professional Growth/Capacity re-energising our leaders and teachers and ensuring that development opportunities are created to strengthen our staff and improve performance.Mr. Speaker, the Collective Bargaining Agreements that we have with the Association of School Principals and the Bermuda Union of Teachers allow for the involuntary transfer of staff.In particular, the Collective Bargaining Agreement states that “when the transfer of a Principal is initiated by the Ministry, notification and the reason for such transfer will be given in writing not later than 31st December.”Confirmation of such transfers must be given not later than 31st March.Mr. Speaker, accordingly in December 2011, all principals were informed that the Ministry would be initiating transfers:To share expertise this would help to distribute equity across schools;For growth/development and/or renewal of the individual and the school; andTo develop adaptive, flexible and situational leadership.Mr. Speaker, in reviewing the needs of the system and individuals, four transfers will take place effective for the upcoming 2012/2013 school year.Some may call this making change slowly Mr. Speaker, while we do want to ensure that system needs are addressed, too much change at one time would not be good for the system.These transfers match the strengths of the individual Principals with the needs of the schools to which they will be appointed. We believe the matches will be positive ones for the schools, the staff and the students.Principals will be informed of these decisions in the coming days and once this is done, the details will be shared with the public.Mr. Speaker, these are bold moves that have proven to be successful in jurisdictions that have successfully changed student outcomes in their schools. This year marks a significant change, where deputy principals will be hired across the system as opposed to being hired by a Principal to work in a particular school.Interview panels, made up of Principals and Department of Education staff, will interview candidates to be selected as the deputy-principals. This change will ensure that the leadership provided in schools is complementary, ensures equity and aids in school and system growth.Mr. Speaker, as concerns school leadership, the job descriptions for scale posts have been amended for the upcoming year. Going forward, an element of consistency will be implemented by ensuring that these posts are tied to the core subjects of English, mathematics, science, social studies and special education.All of these moves are to strengthen the quality of instruction and improve student outcomes. In line with our Collective Bargaining Agreement with the Bermuda Union of Teachers, where necessary, there will also be teacher transfers to support schools and share resources.Mr. Speaker, we have spent this past year identifying the needs of our system and now we must act on what we have found to ensure that we raise the quality of teaching and learning in all of our schools.As we continue to take the necessary steps to “raise the quality of teaching and learning” and to raise student achievement, we will meet with the parents of affected schools to advise them of the critical steps being taken to meet the needs of students.