expected to boost parents' interest and enthusiasm for middle schools this weekend.

Dr. Kuykendall, a former school teacher and guidance counsellor for minority undergraduates and potential high school drop-outs, will be guest speaker at a middle school conference hosted by Bermuda's Middle School Association, National PTA, Amalgamated Bermuda Union of Teachers, and Association of School Principals.

The conference, to be held at the Princess Victoria room of The Princess Hotel from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. tomorrow, is the first step in a series of efforts to get parents involved in the Island's plans for middle schools.

ASP member and Sandys Secondary principal Mr. Melvyn Bassett said interest in the middle school concept has been waning because of delays in Government's education reform timetable. The implementation of middle schools in Bermuda has been set back to 1995.

But Mr. Bassett, educators, and National PTA president Mrs. Marian Askia all agree now is the time for parents to ask questions and get involved.

"I think the problem is parents don't know enough about middle schools to know which questions to ask,'' Mrs. Askia said.

Mr. Bassett stressed that for this reason each of the groups organising tomorrow's conference "has a responsibility to do what they can to educate parents''.

"We did not deliberately eliminate the Ministry of Education,'' he said.

"But we did not wait on them to take the initiative.'' Dr. Kuykendall, whose curriculum vitae reads like a Who's Who book, is a human relations and education expert who has gained national recognition for her extensive talents and expertise in promoting problem solving.

ABUT president Ms Joann Davis said not only will the conference stimulate interest in middle schools, it can also clear up any misconceptions about middle level education and serve "as a good forum for professional development for teachers''.