Back from China and laden with ideas shared and swapped by school principals from 14 countries, two Bermuda school heads are getting to work changing aspects of the Island?s educational model for the 21st century.

That entails bringing school standards and accountability in Bermuda on a par with the international community.

For students it means being taught and guided towards globally recognised educational certificates.

It also requires finding ways to attract the brightest and best scholars to join the teaching profession and finding the way to enthuse all teaching professionals.

And there is no get-out for policy-makers and educational administrators. They must focus on pure education rather than be side-tracked by personal agendas when it comes to securing the best schooling for the next generation.

That is the thrust of the message delivered by Dellwood Middle School principal Janette Musson, whose enthusiasm to achieve these goals was clear as she spoke about what she had learnt at a unique international workshop in Beijing.

When principals from the West met their counterparts from the East there was a mutual belief on both sides that the other was doing something more effective in education.

Why do so many students taught in the Western world turn out to be highly creative and innovative, bringing new ideas to the global marketplace and workplace, yet by and large achieve inferior academic results compared to their Eastern counterparts?

In so many words educators in the West view the grass as greener in the East where exam results are so high, while those in the East want to know how the West is able to produce so many free-thinking innovators.

?We looked at and compared the East and West education systems and discovered some interesting things that we need to learn from each,? said Mrs. Musson, describing how this paradox had been a main discussion point between fellow school heads from countries as diverse as South Africa, Chile, USA, Australia, UK, Sweden, and China at the three-day international workshop arranged by International Networking for Education Transformation (iNet).

She was chosen by Bank of Bermuda to attend the workship in Beijing, along with Spice Valley Middle School head Dawnnelle Walker.

Both were exposed to the very latest thinking in what succeeds in education in the new century at the HSBC-sponsored international workshop.

Since their return they have met with fellow teachers and headteachers from across Bermuda to discuss what they learned and that has resulted in a mission paper of goals to improve teaching standards and educational achievements being drawn by the Association of School Principals and sent to new Education Minister Randy Horton.

?What is the next step? For Dawnnelle and I it is to share this information, we want to share it with our colleagues and the Ministry,? said Mrs. Musson as she gave a presentation to senior Bank of Bermuda executives. The chance to share the information with fellow headteachers came at a meeting of the Association of School Principals.

Mrs. Musson said: ?We decided it was important to share this information and we talked about the importance of systemic leadership and how we could be agents for change.

?And we heard from our colleagues about their interest in this thinking, and how we must share problems and solutions and talk about what we are doing and have teachers share so that we can lift them all up.?

And Mrs. Musson touched on the perceived importance of social and economic background to how well a student performs.

She said: ?We have found that you can mitigate that with proper intervention and schooling.?

Ms Walker was unwell and unable to attend the presentation at the Bank of Bermuda, but Mr. Musson spoke for her when she said: ?We are looking for synergy within schools, within staffing. We should be collaborating across public and private lines to lift up what we do in education.?

A communiqu? from the principals at the Beijing workshop lists suggestions that principals can do to improve educational standards, and a similar list of suggestions for policy makers and the business community.

At the end of the presentation, Bank of Bermuda CEO Philip Butterfield said it was time to ?move away from problem identification to problem solutions? and added he hoped that it marked the start of a time when education is used to move the community forward.

And Mr. Butterfield pledged Bank of Bermuda would give support in its financial and corporate capacity in helping bring systemic leadership to Bermuda?s educational system.