A Stanford University team of graduates and advisors will arrive in Bermuda this month to begin work on a public school curriculum expected to be a model for the rest of the world.

And visiting California State Senator Diane Watson, in announcing Stanford's formal participation in the XL Education Initiative for Bermuda, said it will put Bermuda and its people on the cutting edge of education technology for the new millennium and beyond.

A former elementary school teacher, administrator, school psychologist and college professor, Sen. Watson was instrumental in forming the US/Bermuda Information Technology educational partnership which led to the development of the multi-million-dollar initiative sponsored by XL.

No stranger to Bermuda, Sen. Watson has befriended senior members of both the United Bermuda Party and Progressive Labour Party.

And she told The Royal Gazette : "I'm proud to be involved in the genesis of this. The excitement comes about with being able to put together a collaboration with Stanford University, XL, and Bermuda's teachers, parents and students.'' The initiative will give Bermuda's 7,000 students equal access to the skills required in the 21st century, Sen. Watson noted, and teachers the training they need to help students develop those skills.

"Because of Bermuda's size, literacy level, and the need, what I see for the future is Bermuda as a role model that can be generated to other countries throughout the world,'' she said.

The goal of the curriculum is as follows: All students graduating from Bermuda public schools will achieve a high-level of computer and technological literacy; They will be prepared to use computers and technology in their jobs or advance to college and graduate programmes where they can compete with students from other countries; and A cadre of highly-skilled students will emerge from high school to enter the job market as globally competitive information technology professionals.

XL Chief Information Officer Ellen Lim, who leads the project steering committee with UBP veteran Quinton Edness, explained the proposal for the first year, or the design phase, of the three-year initiative.

"For them (Stanford graduate students) to understand the Bermuda culture, levels of education, the type of proposal they will be developing for the curriculum, they will visit with a core group of teachers,'' she said.

The visit, from November 18 to 23, will therefore allow the students to get to know the environment.

By the end of the winter they will have developed the first draft of the curriculum and refined it.

This, Ms Lim explained, will allow them to deliver a detailed curriculum that will be ready for testing at the end of next spring.

The final activity for the year will involve two Stanford students working in Bermuda to make sure the curriculum is ready to go in the autumn.

"This activity will presumably include setting up any necessary software, helping to train the teachers who will be using the material, and debugging any problems that occur,'' the proposal stated.

State Sen. Diane Watson Graphic file name: DIIANE