Henry Johnson leans back in his chair and smiles when asked if he is leaving Bermuda through no choice of his own in the next few weeks.

The word among some educators is that he was asked to go as part of a "clean sweep" by new Education Minister El James due to the slow pace of public schools reform — but it's a rumour that's absolutely untrue, as far as he's concerned.

"I'm going for personal reasons; I need to be back in the States," he says, utterly unruffled but unwilling to elaborate further. "Minister James, when I first indicated to him that I planned to leave, he asked me to stay.

"If he plans to have a clean sweep he hasn't told me yet. He indicated that he is pleased [with the reform process] and I took him at his word."

Dr. Johnson, an American with a wealth of experience in turning around failing public school systems, may have taken some flak since coming to Bermuda but it's nothing he hasn't dealt with before.

Having previously been state superintendent of education for both Mississippi and North Carolina, as well as an assistant secretary in the US Department of Education under George W. Bush, the former principal understands just how contentious children's learning can be.

Appointed Bermuda's consultant executive officer for education in September 2007, he came out of retirement to take on the task of implementing the recommendations of the damning May 2007 Hopkins report.

Since then, his $250,000-a-year plus perks contract has come under scrutiny, he's been criticised by union leaders for his methods and the pace of reform and he's encountered an unwillingness by some to embrace change.

But the seemingly unflappable Dr. Johnson always knew he was taking on a high-profile position, he says, and expected there to be impatience from some quarters, as well as discomfort among those whose own standards would be scrutinised.

"I'm sure there are some people who would like to see me go," he admits, dismissing another rumour that says he got fed up after meeting a "wall of resistance" from educators.

"I anticipated some resistance. Whenever a high stakes accountability programme is put in place like we are doing, it always generates some resistance."

He explains that transforming a school system and introducing accountability almost always brings with it anxiety for those within the system, who realise that their own performance — and possible shortcomings — will come under the microscope.

"That's not always a comfortable place for people to be," says Dr. Johnson. "It's a pattern I have seen before. It differs only in degree.

"You are tempted to say there is more resistance [here] but as I reflect back on some of the different experiences I have had or the people who have worked with me, the same kind of things happen.

"They get anxious about it. They get suspicious and whenever insufficient information is out there or the perception of insufficient information, people create their own reality which often times is not true."

Referring to rows over the reform between those involved, which have included a headline-grabbing spat between interim education board chairman Philip Butterfield and teachers' union leader Mike Charles, he says: "I certainly wish things had gone more smoothly but these things happen.

"Certainly, you hope that the different factions don't fight, particularly publicly fight, as has occurred occasionally. But again, that's not unprecedented either.

"There are some and have been some situations that got contentious. It boils down to high stakes accountability being introduced for the first time."

He adds: "Someone once said that everything in Bermuda is personal. I didn't understand that initially but I have a better understanding of it now."

None of the above, Dr. Johnson insists, has steered him from his course of restructuring the under-fire Ministry of Education, which came in for tough criticism from the Hopkins team, and bringing in an "assessment and accountability system" based on student results.

The latter will come into effect properly next year when all public schools will publish the results of new tests which have been brought in to measure individual student performance year-on-year.

To critics who say that it's taken too long to get that process in place, Dr. Johnson is unapologetic. He says a $180,000 audit of the school curriculum carried out by US educational association Phi Delta Kappa has revealed that some of the materials used here provide an "inadequate guide" for teachers.

It would be unfair, he contends, to measure student performance before those problems have been addressed and corrected.

"It means some teachers may in fact be unable to deliver the curriculum as intended," he says. "We have to spend time between now and when teachers come back next year, making modifications."

He insists there have already been some successes, such as a slight improvement in the annual Terra Nova scores last year, but says significant improvement can only come in the long-term.

During a telephone interview before he got the job, Dr. Johnson was asked how long he thought it would take to see an improvement in student performance in Bermuda's badly failing schools.

"I said three to five years and they said: 'That long?'," he reveals. "I replied that it's possible to see it earlier and hopefully we will."

He compares what's happening here with the transformation of schools in North Carolina, where it took four years to introduce an assessment and accountability programme similar to the one being adopted in Bermuda.

"North Carolina's system by many accounts, by most accounts, is now the best," he says. "Bermuda is actually further along the pathway than North Carolina was at this point."

He describes his time on the Island as a "challenge" but one he wouldn't have missed for the world and that has "absolutely" left him with good memories.

One of those challenges was the time spent apart from his family and the gruelling back-and-forth travel to the States.

His wife, three children and four grandchildren (plus a fifth on the way) are in the US and he has gone home at least every two weeks to ensure he gets to spend time with them.

Another was that he didn't become head of the education department — when he was given the Acting Commissioner of Education role — until last October, more than a year after he arrived.

"I had no legal authority to direct anybody to do anything," he reveals. "I think the intent was to name me as commissioner or acting commissioner a lot earlier than it really happened, as early as December 2007. But it just didn't happen and I can't explain why it didn't happen."

He says the appointment gave him the confidence to finally start issuing directives and putting in place the Ministry's new structure, called for by Professor Hopkins and his team.

Dr. Johnson says: "The personnel has changed. Of the top four positions, we have one person who is a holdover from the past structure.

"At this point, there have been no job losses, simply because of restructuring.

"Nobody was fired for not performing. I know there was one person whose contract was not renewed."

He's looking forward to seeing other changes soon, such as the appointment of a permanent Education commissioner, the introduction of diagnostic testing to identify weaknesses in learning and a professional development programme in conjunction with an organisation called Lead and Learn.

He acknowledges that the controversial cluster boards plan has yet to materialise but thinks a modified version will eventually be put in place. "That's something left undone," he admits.

His well-publicised salary will stop the day he leaves Bermuda, he says, but he will be happy to come back as a consultant for travel costs only. Why?

"Because I think this is important work," he says, adding that the headlines generated by his salary and monthly business-class flights home did concern him.

"It's actually one of the reasons, when and if I do get asked to come back, I'll do it at no cost. I could retire and go home and do nothing for the rest of my life and be happy. I don't need to work."

He promises that, in the coming years, the standards for graduation will be far more rigorous.

The two senior schools are already beginning to focus on GCSEs, rather than the much maligned Bermuda School Certificate, and the International Baccalaureate has also been proposed.

He says improvements in standards — in teaching, leadership and student performance — are on their way.

"I have not seen anything here that I hadn't seen before," adds Dr. Johnson. "I don't want to give the impression that this is not doable. On balance, there have been successes."