The Ministry of Education and Development is taking concrete steps towards developing a pool of future leaders for Bermuda's public school system.

In a statement to the House of Assembly yesterday, Education Minister Terry Lister described the idea behind the Ministry's Leadership Development Course, which began in January this year and ends in March 2006.

Mr. Lister said the course was started in an effort to ensure that all staff were trained and qualified.

Based on comments from supervisors and principals, he realised the public school system would be strengthened if the Ministry could better prepare people who hoped to be principals one day.

"This preparation means that they are aware not only of the theories behind leadership, but also the laws, policies and procedures under which they are expected to lead a school, and all this before they are actually hired for the job," he said.

There are currently 14 people participating in the programme at the Bermuda College.

The five men and nine women represent every level of the school system, from primary to senior school and also include one mentor teacher and one member of central office staff.

"These 14 were chosen for participation based on a review of their applications and their statements on how they viewed leadership," Mr. Lister said. He said they were all under the watchful eye of Vivlyn Cooper, a retired teacher and principal and senior education officer.

"Mrs. Cooper has been instrumental in the design of the programme and we are indebted to her for her leadership in this regard. I have visited the class myself and can report that he participants are all eager and committed, thus already demonstrating two of the qualities of outstanding leaders."

During the first part of the programme, participants are learning more about the nature of leadership, the Education Act 1996 (which governs the operation of the Ministry and all schools, the Child Protection Act as well as Education Rules and General Orders for Teachers).

The General Order for Teachers is a set of guidelines which pulls together relevant policies pertaining to teaching staff.

During the second half of the programme which starts in September, participants will learn theories of 21st century leadership.

"We have to be mindful that some of the rapid changes in our society, like the advent of technology, challenge how we carry out our leadership role," he said.

Mr. Lister continued that participants would gain insight into the operations of the Board of Education, along with detailed information on the collective bargaining agreements under which the Ministry operates.

During the last part of the programme participants will read and discuss ethical leadership, accountability systems and fiscal management as it pertains to schools.

"If we are to demonstrably improve this organisation, including the Ministry and our schools, each of us has to be prepared to stand and accept responsibility for the part we play in ensuring that every child in Bermuda's public school system receives a high quality education," he said.

There will also be a short period of work-shadowing, or job-training, during which time the 14 participants will work under the tutelage of current principals.

Mr. Lister said this would provide them the opportunity to see the reality of how leading a school on a day-to-day basis actually works.

There was a waiting list of people who were interested in taking the course, but Mr. Lister said another programme would not start until he was satisfied that the objectives of the course were met.

Mr. Lister ended by saying that he did not want to mislead the House into thinking that the 14 participants would automatically become the next set of principals, but he could guarantee that those who had successfully completed the leadership development course would be "high in the running" should a principal position come along.