The Principal of West Pembroke has confirmed with Commissioner Kalmar Richards, that West Pembroke staff ended their work to rule on January 3, 2019.
Towards the end of November 2018, West Pembroke staff identified staffing for special needs students, Standards-Based grading and technology as the priority concerns for their work to rule action.
Staffing for students with learning support needs was resolved by the provision of a learning support teacher who commenced work at the school today, and the staffing need for the ASD program was resolved by the school.
The Principal and staff of West Pembroke, along with all primary and middle school principals and staff, participated in a Standards-Based Grading workshop on January 2, 2019 provided by the Department of Education (DOE). Ongoing training and support will be provided to all principals and teachers in the Bermuda Public School system by the DOE’s Steering Committee for Standards-Based Grading. The Committee was established in October 2018.
In relation to technology concerns, plans are well-under way to upgrade the bandwidth for West Pembroke and all schools. In addition, the DOE’s IT Section conducted a Functional Technology Classroom check at the school in December 2018. This involved room to room checks by DOE IT Technicians, interviewing teachers and checking technology in person.
During the checks, it was found that a smart board and two computers in the computer lab, as well as the library Wi-Fi were malfunctioning. These critical items have been remediated and replaced.
In the correspondence sent to Commissioner Richards about ending the work to rule, Principal Opal Wilson stated, "Please be advised that as of Thursday, January 3, 2019, the teaching staff at West Pembroke School made the decision not to continue with Work to Rule. I wish to thank you for your support during this time. The staff’s concerns were listened to and addressed. "
In closing, the Minister of Education, the Hon. Diallo Rabain, JP. MP., said, “I would like to thank the Commissioner of Education, the Principal, Teachers, West Pembroke PTSA, and the Bermuda Union of Teachers for all that was done to ensure the needs of our West Pembroke Primary School students have been met.”