West End Primary appears to have been granted a new lease on life or at the least a ceremonial stay of execution, with Government having bowed to pressure and promising to re-evaluate its decision to close the Somerset institution as part of a restructuring of the public schools system.
Sustained pressure applied by the West End Warriors, made up mostly of alumni members, finally reaped tangible during a recent town hall meeting presented live via TNN held at the school and attended by Premier David Burt and Education Minister Diallo Rabain.
The result has been that Government has conceded to re-score 15 primary schools, with greater emphasis being placed on the legacy component, an item the West End Warriors have stressed as having been not valued enough during the decision process.
A statement issued by Government told how “… they would revisit the scoring process and that there would be enhanced consideration for legacy, specifically for parishes with more than one school.”
Meanwhile, Minister Rabain, while not promising a U-turn on the decision to close West End in favour of Somerset Primary or any other we to remain open, in part because of its legacy as one of the first schools in Bermuda to provide an education for Black students.
The government statement said: “In response to the concerns raised during the meeting … the Government announced that they would revisit the scoring process and that there would be enhanced consideration for legacy, specifically for parishes with more than one school.”
Rabain, while not offering any promises that the review would change the outcome, displayed a much softer tone that the “done deal” mannerisms previously displayed and spoken.
“Actually I was encouraged by the number of people that came out (at town hall meeting),” said Rabain. “One thing that we’ve always said about education reform is that we need to have the input from the constituents, the stakeholders, whether it be teachers or whether it be students or the general public.
“I think we had a good conversation and I’m looking forward to moving forward.
“We have committed to have the criteria of the scoring looked at and done again and that’s what we will be working towards.”
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