Somersfield Academy head: Public schools on the right track

Somersfield new head of school Dr. Jim Christopher

September 02, 2009 — The new head of school at Somersfield Academy believes Government is on the right track in choosing the internationally recognised Cambridge curriculum for public schools.

Jim Christopher, who has taught in the public school system in Canada for years, feels the programme could help raise the standard of education here.

"I think the Government is moving forward really well coming up with a standardised curriculum," he said yesterday. "I think the directors' council, with the licensing of teachers is a really good step forward.

"I think the Government has done a good job providing the time and resources for teachers to improve and that can only help kids. I think education here is on the right track, I really do."

He said there are too many students in independent schools, adding that private schools work better when there is a good public school system.

Dr. Christopher has two boys, aged three and six. Both are Somersfield students.

He said he considered both of them before he accepted his post: "One of the key things was a school I would want my kids to go to. It's a really great school. I felt very confident putting my own children in."

The school gives preference to Bermudians over expats, while siblings are also accepted over students of new families.

According to Dr. Christopher, 60 percent of the Somersfield population is Bermudian, and 40 percent are expats.

Scholarships and bursaries are provided for students in need. Of the school's 445 students, 65 are aided.

"We want to make sure that our school stays accessible for as many students as possible. We don't want to have a school that's the richest of the rich and the brightest of the poor

"We want to make it accessible to middle-class families."

Dr. Christopher attended public school in Canada. He attended the University of Toronto where he graduated with a Bachelors of Art in history and education.

He then received a Master of Education in curriculum and a doctorate in educational administration.

He taught history for 13 years. For the past 25 years, he has been an administrator.

Prior to taking on his responsibilities at Somersfield in January, he served as the executive director of the Canadian Association of Independent schools and executive director of the Canadian Educational Standards Institute.

The latter body accredits independent schools across Canada and two schools here Saltus Grammar School and Somersfield.

As a result, Dr. Christopher was tasked with travelling to the Island three or four times a year, to look at how the two schools were doing.

"[Somersfield], it's a great school. My predecessor, Margaret Hallett, did a wonderful job. It's great to walk into that kind of situation where the school's in great shape. We're doing new things."

Several initiatives are in place for the coming school year.

One is a full-day preschool programme for three-year-olds. He said the programme was previously half-a-day, which made it difficult for working families to pick up their children.

Another new thing for the school is the new math chair, Roseanna Luzzarga, who will be teaching and providing services across the Island.

"It is nice for us to have a woman in that position as a role model for adolescent girls," he said.

Dr. Christopher said the school is thankful for its community and corporate support. KPMG has provided new laptops and carts for the coming school year.

"We're also doing a big push in technology this year. We already have two computer labs and we now have two mobile computer labs. We got corporate sponsorship for that from KPMG.

"We thought it was important for students to have greater access to technology. This way we can provide it and it wasn't an extra financial burden."

Dr. Christopher said the school has also installed smart boards where they are appropriate.

Asked what his biggest challenge will be in the coming year, Dr. Christopher said: "I think a big challenge is we want to make sure that there are places for our students to go to school.

"Many are here [for the duration] from three to 15. We want to make sure there's a programme for them to go into.

"The school's in really good shape. What I am doing is fine-tuning what's already in place. Most of our students go off to BHS or Warwick Academy. Not as many go to boarding school anymore. We get great feedback about how well our students are doing."

He continued: "The other challenge is the school's quite young so there's been massive building. That comes with a big debt.

"We have a pretty active capital payment plan to pay that debt. We're always looking for ways to raise money so that the bill isn't always flighted in tuition."

Originally published in The Royal Gazette