to address the National Middle School Conference in the US.

Clearwater Middle School deputy principal Derek Tully, who recently returned from the conference in Indianapolis, told The Royal Gazette he spent the summer preparing his presentation.

And judging by the feedback he received, he added, it was well worth it.

The event was attended by some 7,000 teachers and featured 1993 Nobel Prize for Literature winner Toni Morrison and "Frames of Mind'' author Howard Gardiner as guest speakers.

Explaining how Bermuda changed from the old British 11-plus exam system to a North American middle school system, Mr. Tully traced the ten-year restructuring process in a one-hour presentation.

"I showed structural charts showing how the Ministry of Education organisational structure had to be altered to allow for the restructuring,'' he explained.

Mr. Tully also presented outlines for various aspects of reform, including the dates for the completion of the curriculum, the setting up of curriculum committees, how the Association of School Principals and other education officials came together to approve the curriculum, and how his school prepared for the changes.

"I laid out my presentation chronologically in two main sections,'' he said.

"What our community (Cabinet, the Ministry of Education, Department of Education etc.) did to put the structure in place and what our own school did to prepare ourselves for the big change.'' Noting that each presenter had to be evaluated by those attending the workshop, Mr. Tully said: "Mine was attended by professors from several universities, including the University of Vermont who noted that Bermuda had done well by proceeding "cautiously'' during our restructuring.

"He informed me that some jurisdictions just say that they are going to set up middle schools, then the next year everything has to be in place.'' But Mr. Tully, who served on the Number One action team which arose out of the Educational Planning Team, credited the Ministry of Education who helped fine tune and approve his presentation and Government Information Services who provided slides and transparencies.