The people of Bermuda were thrown a challenge last night to assist in the improvement of the public education system.

The Ministry of Education and Development is appealing for anyone interested in the Island's schools to become members of Bermuda's Education Strategic Team (BEST).

The Ministry has worked with principals, teachers, parents, students and union officials to set new targets and goals for all public schools during the next four years.

Now, individual action teams must work together to make recommendations to the Ministry on how these new aims will be met.

Policy analyst for the education department, Alberta Dyer-Tucker said: "The only criteria you have to have is being a living human being.

"We need people who are interested in seeing the growth of public education. Everyone has experience of school, so everyone has something to bring."

Chief education officer Dr. Joseph Christopher said the overall aim of the BEST programme was to make the public system the number one choice for parents.

He said its key objectives were to better cater for the needs of both higher achievers and those students who struggled with some subjects.

Its main focus was going to be on ensuring improved outcomes for its students when it came to test results, graduation and final exams, as well as providing greater staff development for teachers.

Dr. Christopher said: "We have put a lot of effort into deficits that needed to be addressed, but we have not provided sufficient attention to those students who are high achievers - not only those who are academic high achievers, but high achievers in any area.

"We are going to continue to provide additional support to those students who are struggling, and now also better challenge those who are high achievers.

"We don't have all the details yet (on how the aims are to be achieved). That is why we want interested people to come forward and be part of the action teams.

"We have set out the objectives, but it is the action teams that will come back to the Ministry with recommendations on how to move it forward."

Dr. Christopher said each team will have a technical officer from the Ministry of Education attached to it to provide advice. However, if the Ministry feels some or all of the recommendations are not workable, unrealistic, or in need of extra detail, they will be sent back to be looked at again.

And he said he did not expect all members of the group to agree with each other all the time, or indeed with the Ministry, but he said general consensus would prevail.

The action teams are to begin meeting within the next month, and recommendations for the Ministry are expected by September.

Principal of CedarBridge Academy, Kalmar Richards said teachers, union representatives and parents had already been invited to attend presentations on the BEST strategy, but said as more detail developed, it would be made available.

She said CedarBridge regularly tested its own students four times a year, so immediately saw where improvements had been made, and she said schools would be able to see over time whether the new BEST programme was having a good effect.

Mrs. Richards said: "The goals are challenging, but they are attainable, and yes, we will be stretched, but our mission is to become the first choice for education in Bermuda.

"With that is a responsibility for us to ensure that what we give on a daily basis is of the highest quality."

And Mrs. Richards said everyone had a role to play.

She added: "We often have people in the community who criticise us. Well, this is a wonderful opportunity for them to come and have their voices heard and to contribute to developing these plans that we expect will move us forward to becoming first choice."

Dr. Christopher said he believed this was a good time for anyone interested in the public education system to do their bit to make it better.

"It's a perfect opportunity for them to get involved and to make sure that the quality of the public education system is what they would want for their children," said the chief education officer.

"It's also a good opportunity for them to realise that the survival of Bermuda depends on the quality of all of the education components in our private and public systems.

"Therefore we must ensure that the quality of the public system is at an appropriate standard. The input and comments from members of the public, whether they be parents, businesses or anyone else, is essential."

Pandora Wright, who is on the board of education and also vice president of human resources at Ace Bermuda, said the BEST programme had not been officially unveiled to businesses yet, but it would be.

And she urged businesses on the Island to become members of the team. She said all companies in Bermuda had a stake in the public education system.

Ms Wright said: "I would encourage businesses to contact the Minister to request that meetings be held on the BEST programme, and we would certainly welcome business leaders on to the BEST teams."

To become a member of the BEST team, or for more information, call the Ministry on 239-3626.