The Minister of Education?s initiative to rename middle schools by May 2006 has received a mixed response from both teachers and parents.

Minister Terry Lister hopes to rename Dellwood Middle School, Spice Valley Middle School and Clearwater Middle School by Heritage month next year and believes children will benefit from the project.

In a full-page ad in yesterday Minister Lister printed his remarks to the Dellwood Parent Teacher Association on October 20.

In his remarks, Minister Lister said some people in Bermuda believed there was no such thing as Bermudian culture.

He said linking up to the past, and looking at how we have become who we are, helps us to determine who we will be in the future.

?When we look at schools, we have the opportunity to honour persons who have made significant contributions to the educational community and by extension, to Bermuda,? he said.

He went on to say that persons chosen for this honour will have displayed certain key characteristics that he would want young people to emulate.

All three schools have been encouraged to participate in choosing the new names. Names, he hoped would represent role models to Bermuda?s youth.

Minister Lister said he had received a mixed response from the three schools. Some, he said, were excited to be involved in the renaming process, while others voiced their concerns.

?There were some who wanted to know why a name change was needed and why so much money and time would be invested in the process.?

Money, he added, many thought should be invested in education instead.

However, he added that he had never mentioned the financial costs involved as this was something which had not been finalised, but added that would not be a large sum of money.

?As for honouring these people, that?s part of the education process.?

He said it was also opportunity for school families to ?pull together?.

Spice Valley Middle School in Warwick has undergone three name changes in the last six years, but Minister Lister said the response from this school was far greater than any other.

He said re-naming a school was not uncommon, and used Prospect Primary School as an example.

In the past 25 years this school has undergone four name changes, two of which honoured both local and British legends: Sir Robert Crawford and Sir Winston Churchill.

However, Minister Lister said he was not going to go around trying to ?sell the process? and hoped instead that the ongoing discussions at the three schools would lead to positive results.

The principals of Dellwood, Clearwater and Spice Valley Middle Schools could not be reached for comment.