Cedarbridge Academy principal Ernest Payette is working on getting the Island's first senior secondary school accredited within five years.

It is just one of many tasks the veteran Canadian educator is facing since a recent dispute between the Education Ministry and the Bermuda Union of Teachers over the Ministry's hiring practices caused a delay in the selection process of deputy principals and other top staff for the senior and middle schools.

Speaking to The Royal Gazette in his Melbourne House office, Mr. Payette said: "I'm looking at accreditation so that our students can eventually move from Cedarbridge to university in North America.

"In terms of student body size and the programmes we're able to offer, we're okay. In terms of facility we're tops. The things we don't know about are the teaching staff standards, other staff, or student performance.'' Flipping through a stack of reports relating to the multi-million-dollar facility which is scheduled to open in September at Prospect, Mr. Payette conceded that the staffing delay was a cause for concern.

"It affects our ability to do everything the way it should be done,'' he said. "We will do it, but the question is can we do it as well as we should.'' Noting that his focus was currently on the technical aspects and security plans for the school, Mr. Payette admitted: "I have not yet started things like the handbook which is where the (staff) team comes in. I'm spending most of my time dealing with technical things. What I'm not able to do is deal with the people issues.

"I need to know the teaching staff and what their strengths are. What the extracurricular activities will be and who's going to do what.

"I want a parents advisory committee and a student advisory committee.

"But my biggest concern is my communication with the parents and students.'' While Cedarbridge's board of governors was providing "excellent'' support and setting up a communications committee, Mr. Payette stressed that he will have to step up his pace in the new year.

"January is going to be a very busy month for me,'' he said. "I will be visiting the schools and talking to the PTAs.

"(Education's manpower planning officer) John McLaughlin got pulled out of middle schools to help me, so that's been a real bonus. But as we meet with students in January and early February, we have to go out and work with them on what they are interested in because we (Cedarbridge) will provide a wider ranger of opportunities.

Accrediting Cedarbridge "Their (students') decisions will drive a lot of decisions I will make so we need to look at the core subjects and other programmes and then get a teaching staff to run those programmes.

"Once we have those timetables built we want to work with students on policies and procedures. If we want it to work right, we should involve students.'' Noting that students will be preoccupied with examinations in June, Mr.

Payette said the Cedarbridge staff only really had April and May to get the school's programmes in place.

But he stressed that he was determined to have the school -- which will take in some 900 students -- open on time.

"It will be tighter than we would have liked, but I see no reason why we should not be ready on schedule,'' Mr. Payette said. "I think it will be a year without vacations for me.

"I'm going to try to maximise every effort we can get from parents and students and then I will develop most of the programmes myself. Then we can review it the next year. You don't want to start a school that way. But that's what we'll have to do.'' While declining to comment on the dispute between the Education Ministry and the Bermuda Union of Teachers which caused the delay, Mr. Payette said: "This is a major initiative and major initiatives don't come up without teething problems.'' However, he noted that Cedarbridge could not afford to compromise on its standard of staff.

"When you're looking for people for deputy principals, you have to look at the nature of the school they will operate,'' Mr. Payette said.

"What we have is a technically advanced school, not just by Bermuda standards, but also by North American standards. We're looking at a school that is moving very fast into the 21st century. We're also looking at a large composite school, by Bermuda standards. So there's got to be a significant commitment as far as time and energy.

"We have to have people who are very innovative with curriculum. This will allow us to compete on equal footing with North America. Also, we need people who are very knowledgeable about the area of curriculum, with management skills, and who are able to manage change effectively.

"It's a tall order. But when you look at the role of those people we can't settle for less.'' Mr. Payette said Cedarbridge officials were also focussing on levels of achievement for students.

"At the senior school level, students need to go through programmes at their own rate,'' he said. "My goal is to have the students meet the requirements which will allow them to graduate with the qualifications they need. And it does not matter how long that takes. What is important is that the children graduate.'' In addition to core subjects and extracurricular activities, Cedarbridge will also provide "bridging programmes''.

"For example, Mr. Payette explained, if a student in S2 (senior year two) is struggling and not ready to move into S3, but it is not appropriate to keep them in S2, bridging programmes will be courses which will allow them to make up the loss ground while getting courses they are able to master at S3 level.'' "If they need an extra year, and if they are willing to be there and work and follow the rules, we are happy to have them there,'' he added.

"But this is not going to be a hang-out zone. Our first mandate is to make sure we're at the same level of mandate as North American universities.

"Not every kid will or needs to go to university, but it is our job to ensure that they leave school with the academic background required to move into whatever occupation they choose and be successful.''