The head of a private school’s board of trustees said he hoped to usher in a new generation of creative and caring leaders.

E. Michael Leverock, who has marked a year of leading Saltus Grammar School’s board of trustees, is guiding the organisation through the British Columbia Offshore School Curriculum.

He admitted that there had been shifts while implementing the programme but added that it was a necessary “game changer” for the school.

“Things are changing so much — technology’s advancing and people have no idea what jobs there are going to be in the future,” Mr Leverock said.

“You’re tasked with trying to figure out what skill sets are needed and providing those skill sets to kids so they can survive in the future and grow.

“We want to build innovative, caring leaders who have integrity, courage, respect and are open to new ideas and just being good citizens. What more can you ask?”

Mr Leverock took up the post of board chairman from Gil Tucker, who made school history as the campus’s first Black Bermudian head boy.

He said he became involved in the school after his two children were enrolled there.

Mr Leverock added that he was previously well-known as a “fairly active parent”, having helped out everywhere from reading time to lunch duty.

He said: “I guess being seen around campus a lot and being actively involved, I was asked to step on to the board.”

Mr Leverock, who holds a masters in business administration, has sat on several boards in the past.

He was the chairman of the Bermuda Energy Commission between 2009 and 2016 and served two tenures as chairman of the Bermuda Professional Engineers Registration Council.

He also sits on the board of the Bermuda Monetary Authority and sat on the board of One Communications, which he cofounded as Bermuda Digital Communications.

Mr Leverock said that his experience made him a “strong candidate” to succeed Mr Tucker’s 13-year tenure as board chairman.

He acknowledged: “I knew following in his footsteps would be a bit of a challenge but I’m not one to shy away from challenges.”

Mr Leverock added: “Given that my kids attend Saltus and education is one of the things that you want to be sure that you can invest in as a society, it was a no-brainer.

“It just seemed appropriate at the time to go ahead, take over the school and ensure that [at] an institution like this, which has been a part of Bermuda for so long … I can use my capabilities to direct it into the future.”

Since taking on the post, Mr Leverock said that one valuable lesson he had learnt was to think about how he approached people on campus, from colleagues and teachers to pupils and their parents.

He explained that managing children and their futures was sensitive and required conviction and tact.

Mr Leverock added that sitting on the board of trustees for a school had a more “human” element because the investment was in children.

He said: “The only difference here is that you’re not driven so much by profit, you’re driven by sound educational outcomes, which is very important when you think about the contributions that these individuals that you’re teaching bring to society.”

Outside his post, Mr Leverock said he still remained active as a school parent.

He continues to do pick-ups and drop-offs, and attend parent-teacher conferences, simply because he was “a parent first”.

Mr Leverock added: “I’m excited because I think the BC curriculum is a bit of a game-changer for Saltus.

“It brings a new level of rigour, expectation and accountability, but at the same time it allows for us, from a teaching perspective, to be innovative in how we deliver and teach.

“It encourages critical thinking, it encourages creativity, it encourages innovation.

“Having that as your basis of raising an educated people, you raise a standard that I think is much needed for the world that we’re facing now.”