The Minister of Education has called for people to participate in “prototyping activities” which will form part of the redesign of Bermuda’s public education school system.

Diallo Rabain made the call during a press conference this afternoon where he gave an update on ongoing public and parish meetings, the Learning First initiative and National School Counsellors Week.

Mr Rabain said the Learning First design teams are developing prototypes that test concepts and ideas for school system redesign at an early stage.

He said: “It may look like a role play of an experience, a model of physical space or a game of scenarios. Learning First is looking for people who may be interested in participating in prototyping activities over the coming months.

“Teachers, school leaders, parents, young people, community members and business people of all ages and life experiences are welcome.”

Mr Rabain said that Learning First design teams were working on six aspects of the public school system that require a national plan and approach.

“In Learning First, these core and national priorities are the curriculum – what students learn in and beyond school; pedagogy – what teaching and learning look like; graduate outcomes – what students need to achieve and how they evidence learning; learning environments – where and when learning takes place; the education workforce – what support teachers and principals need to bring about these changes and design principals, the core values and vision that hold everything together.”

Over the past few weeks the Ministry of Education has conducted public stakeholder meetings covering the parish primary school proposals which will see the current slate of 18 primary schools reduced to ten.

Mr Rabain said attendance at the virtual meetings facilitated by Kalmar Richards, Commissioner of Education and Dr Llewellyn Simmons, Director of Academics, had been “steady and engaging”.

He said 124 people have so far sent in proposals or joined the Zoom calls while 1,600 viewed the meetings via Facebook and 200 via YouTube.

Mr Rabain said all submissions would be made public after the consultative process had ended and a report had been drawn up.

Asked whether the ministry would consider releasing the submissions to the public prior to the consultation submission deadline on March 12, Mr Rabain said the suggestion could be discussed if such a submission was made.

Mr Rabain said school counsellors had gone above and beyond the school setting delivering groceries, checking in on students and being advocates.

“They know more than most how fragile the human spirit can be. Many students and parents have had to rely on them to make sense of Covid-19 challenges and gain the strength to overcome these challenges. I want to thank you school counsellors for being that pillar of strength.”

Anyone wishing to connect with Learning First should visit www.learningfirstbda.com