EVEN before it opened, CedarBridge Academy was a centre of some controversy. Many parents were unhappy about the building of what was, by Bermuda's historical standards, a mega-school.

Instead of attending parish schools, nearly 1,000 pupils were expected to travel to the Prospect campus from all parts of the island. Opponents of the project were convinced that such a large comprehensive school would be at best mediocre and at worst chaotic, and that the students, many from disadvantaged backgrounds, would cover too wide a range of academic ability to fit easily under one roof.

The early years, marred as they were by anti-social behaviour and violence, seemed to support those who had low expectations. However, Mrs. Kalmar Richards, principal at CedarBridge since 1999, is confident that the school has reached a place where the focus is on learning.

Reporter COLIN O'CONNOR and photographer TONY CORDEIRO caught up with Mrs. Richards at the Harmony Club, where, coincidentally but appropriately, she was attending a seminar on excellence in teaching and learning.

Q: CedarBridge has sometimes been in the news for other than scholastic reasons, but what is your current view of the school from an academic standpoint?

A: I need to backtrack in order to do that. When the school opened in 1997, we were using the BSSC (Bermuda Secondary School Certificate) curriculum. In 1999, we introduced the new BSC (Bermuda School Certificate), a more rigorous curriculum which required the students to stay for four years instead of three.

The BSC curriculum was developed by teachers in our system, and it forces children to take their education more seriously, because the standards are much higher. The first group to go through the BSC graduated in 2003, and we noticed that these students left us with better grades, and the feedback we are getting from Bermuda College is that the pupils going there are bringing in stronger skills.

What is significant for us is that we are reaching a point now where our students are able to go directly overseas, as a result of the qualifications that they are getting from us. They are leaving us, many of them, on scholarships for international universities and colleges, with many of the scholarships up to $20,000. This is really encouraging for us.

Q: Are the students qualifying for scholarships because of your recent introduction of GCSE exams?

A: No, the GCSEs were only introduced this year. The students are able to get these scholarships with our own BSC programme. However, a lot of people in the community may not be aware that we are offering the GCSEs now.

We went through the planning stages a couple of years ago. I was part of the certification committee which looked at that, and we concluded that we needed to offer these courses so that we can give our children an opportunity to participate in an international curriculum as well as our BSC programme.

At CedarBridge, there are five GCSE subject areas we are offering, and we have identified students who could be prospective GCSE exam candidates according to their academic performance. In 2004, we will wheel out more. The BSC remains our national programme, but for our students who are performing at the higher end, we have introduced the GCSEs.

When people think of CedarBridge, they may not think of academics as much as technical or vocational programmes, and I think that the community has lost sight of the initial vision for senior school.

At CedarBridge, we are a comprehensive school, which means that we cater for children with special needs and academic challenges, but we also have children who are high flyers, who are outstanding and proficient.

The GCSE programme is just another option, because we feel that students should have options. The BSC is recognised, and students can get into colleges with that, but there are parents who said that they wanted to have different options for their children, and so we are always conscious of that. We will probably look at some additional possibilities as well, like Advanced Placement courses.

Q: Have there been any meaningful changes to the curriculum because of the GCSE courses, or are you following a curriculum similar to previous years?

A: We were required to compare the BSC curriculum with the GCSEs we wanted to offer, and there is very little difference. That was encouraging. We can deliver, and our children can write the BSC and get credits towards graduation but they can also write the international exam and get the international certificate.

Q: The new Berkeley school should be open for the next school year. Do you see CedarBridge as being in direct competition with Berkeley for the more academically gifted students?

A: That's an interesting question, and I will tell you the expectation is that both schools will be top-notch. (Berkeley principal) Mrs. (Michelle) Gabisi and I work closely together, and we talk on a regular basis, and we are looking at more of an alignment of the schools. Even the boards are communicating.

The goal is for both schools to be outstanding in what they offer and what they do, which I think is important. It is more collaborative than competitive, and there is a desire to keep it that way. The choice is open to children right now, and I think that both schools will do the best that they can in terms of what they are delivering, and then parents and children will choose accordingly.

Q: Given the recent resignation of the PTSA, can you describe the current state of the relationship between the school, the PTSA, and the board of governors?

A: Let me give you a little bit of background. I am part of the PTSA executive, and the president of the PTSA is also a member of the board of governors, so the structure facilitates a really strong relationship, and that structure is in place.

I have a really good relationship with the PTSA executive and parents. Our challenge is to find a way to get more parents to come out. The former president of the PTSA was very frustrated with the turnout of parents. That is something we have been dealing with for a number of years.

At the start of the year, the turnout is exceptionally high. Then, as the year progresses, it gets lower and lower. That is not a trend that's unique to senior school. I have been a primary school principal, so I have seen that. The new president has formed a little committee to look into that, and I think it's about meeting parents needs when they do come to the PTSA.

Q: Do you believe that it is important for the school and the children that parents should be enthusiastically involved in the life of the school?

A: All of the research says that parental involvement is key. I think we have to be careful because there are many enthusiastic parents who are pushing education in their homes who can't get out to PTSA meetings all of the time and their children are doing well.

The parents we really need to see at our PTSA meetings are the ones who don't come out, because if we are only talking to the ones who are always there, who are ready to help in any way, we are preaching to the converted. We have to find a way to talk to the parents to find out why so many don't attend the PTSA. Sometimes it's the job, or the second job, sometimes they have more than one meeting to attend. There may be challenges with little children, but sometimes parents are just afraid to come.

Because we are a senior school, the PTSA obviously embraces the students, and that is important to us. Our students come into the executive meetings, and they give feedback. Students have a voice in the actual PTSA meetings, and so we validate them in terms of their importance to us.

Our school improvement team includes three student representatives. Whatever we do, whenever we have committees, or if we are organising events and functions, the students voices are heard.

Q: Would it then be more accurate to say that the parental component of the PTSA recently resigned en masse?

A: That needs to be cleared up, because our then-president resigned, and the other parents in the PTSA decided to resign en masse, so that we could go back to the parents and start afresh. The new president, C. Eugene Woods, and the steering committee will look at reasons why parents are not coming out, and what parents will want to do when they come out to meetings, so that we can make sure that we are meeting their needs.

The parents who do come out are very supportive, but there are 950 students, and the goal is to have many more parents participate. Ideally, there should be one person representing each family.

Q: You are known to be a devout Christian. Do you believe that there should be room for religious instruction in schools?

A: Most people will be aware that I am a Christian and, for me, that means living by very high standards and values. Walking my talk. It's not about pushing my beliefs on my staff or students. At present, World Religion is a course that is available in the curriculum, and that is taught at CedarBridge. It does not promote any one religion. We do expose students to the values inherent in the "eight keys of excellence", which were developed out of the work of Napoleon Hill. He researched over 500 top performing businessmen, and what he found was that there were some common themes.

The idea is to expose students to values that will set them up for success in any arena: integrity, commitment, discipline, perseverance, balance, the sort of virtues and values that are more important in a family or social context than in a religious one.

Q: You were quoted once as not being much in favour of books like the Harry Potter series. Do you think that books of that type, dealing in children's adventure and fantasy, are not beneficial to children?

A: I would like to backtrack to the question I was asked in that interview, and unfortunately, the context of my response was not given. I was asked if the books were part of the curriculum, and they are not.

We have a very wide variety of books in our library, and my position is that, ultimately, a parent and a child will choose what is appropriate for the child to read. I was then asked my personal opinion, and that was that I would rather children read books which will help them progress and go forward.

The whole issue was taken out of context, because I specifically remember being asked if these books were part of our curriculum, and I replied that they were not listed on our curriculum.

We have the books you would expect to find in any library of mainly English literature, starting with Shakespeare, but I would personally recommend books that encourage children to set goals, to follow their dreams.

I want my children to think big, I want them to read stories about people who have endured struggles and who have made it through, because they may be able to connect that with their own life and experiences.

We push that at the senior level, because our students are getting ready to go into college or the workforce, and they need to be focused on what they need to do to get where they want to go.

At that stage, it can be so useful for them to read real-life stories about people who have made it, and they can learn from them, and apply them to their lives.

Q: So, are you optimistic that CedarBridge is on the right track, or how much more do you need to do to get on the right track?

A: We have come a mighty long way. When I look at where we were in 1997 when the school opened, we were a school that was bringing together groups of children from various schools, and we were coming together and there was conflict, and the negative stories in the press were constant.

Many people may not have stopped to consider that there have been few such stories in recent times, because CedarBridge has reached a point where we feel like a real school.

The focus previously had been on establishing an environment that was safe and conducive to learning. I am not saying that learning was not going on then, but now, for us, the priority is student achievement.

What can we do to have our students perform better? What can we do to set our children up for success?

For example, over the last four years, we have had two children selected from our school for Rotary Exchange. This year, it is four children. So, what do we need to do to make it six, or eight?

The security environment has really stabilised, and at this point, I can say we are like any other school. Our focus now is on our new mission: everything that we think, and breathe, and do, will be aimed at helping students achieve.

The mission statement embraces and embodies what is happening within the walls at CedarBridge: where excellence is valued, we cultivate Bermuda's achievers.