Cedarbridge Academy is a senior high school in Devonshire Parish, Bermuda. It is one of Bermuda's two public senior schools, having opened in 1997.[1] It was constructed within the former military base Prospect Camp in the 1990s in place of the old army barracks that had previously housed Prospect Secondary School on the same site, as the result of the decision of the Government of Bermuda to split the Secondary School level of education into middle school and senior High school levels, in emulation of the United States school system, with all of the former public and aided secondary schools converted into middle schools,[2] with a single senior high school: Cedarbridge Academy. This plan was deeply unpopular, but the government pressed ahead with it. As a result, the aided secondary school Warwick Academy exited the public education system, reverting to being a private school, and many parents who had been satisfied with the public school system beforehand transferred their children to one of the four private schools (Warwick Academy, Saltus Grammar School, the Bermuda High School for Girls, Mount St. Agnes Academy and Montessori Academy) or sending them to private schools abroad,[3][4] leading to 40% of Bermuda's children attending private schools and the perception that only those parents who cannot afford private schools send their children to public schools.[5] The government did amend its plans by retaining secondary school Berkeley Institute as a senior high school, supplementary to Cedarbridge Academy.[6]
| Cedarbridge Academy | |
|---|---|
| Address | |
 | |
1 Cedarbridge Lane Devonshire Parish Bermuda | |
| Coordinates | 32°18′09″N 64°46′02″W / 32.3026°N 64.7672°W |
| Information | |
| School type | Senior School |
| Website | www |
The Cedarbridge Academy Gymnasium serves as the Emergency Measures Organization's official pre-hurricane shelter, typically opening before the arrival of severe storms.[7][8]
References
edit- ^ "Cedarbridge Academy." Government of Bermuda. Retrieved on September 14, 2016.
- ^ Parker Trott, Carol (8 February 2011). "Teachers' concerns to get rare hearing". The Royal Gazette. Bermuda. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
Government is renovating several of its schools as part of education reform. Sandys Secondary, Warwick Secondary, Dellwood, St. George's Secondary, and Whitney Institute are being converted to middle schools. They will be known as the middle school at Sandys, Spice Valley Middle School, Dellwood Middle School, and Clearwater Middle School, respectively. Whitney will not be changing its name. Government is also converting Northlands to a primary school and finishing work on Cedar Bridge Academy, its new senior secondary school at Prospect. Work on the middle schools, which began this summer, are expected to be phased in. And Cedar Bridge officials have moved into the facility this week while work continues.
- ^ Joseph L. Christopher (1 June 2015). Historical Context of Education in Bermuda Volume 1: Historical Context of Education in Bermuda: Perspectives of a Participant Observer (PDF) (Report). Bermuda College. p. 13.
As a result of these changes, the Montessori Academy (1991), now Somersfield Academy, was established as a private school. Warwick Academy (1993), an historically white school, decided to forego government financial assistance and become a fully private school. Thus two additional private schools were made available.
- ^ O'Connor, Colin (3 February 2011). "Overseas education options on show". The Royal Gazette. Bermuda. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
BERMUDIAN and resident parents and their children contemplating an overseas education will be spoiled for choice at next week's Secondary School Fair, when representatives of 31 US boarding schools will be in Bermuda for an "Informal Reception".
- ^ Zuill, Lilla (3 February 2011). "Butterfield: Island cannot afford failure in education". The Royal Gazette. Bermuda. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
Mr. Butterfield, who is chairman of the Board of Education, said he was concerned that Bermuda "apparently finds it acceptable that 40 percent of schoolchildren here are in private schools". He made his comments as guest speaker at the Bermuda Employers' Council's AGM. Mr. Butterfield - a Bermudian who has spent much of his adult life outside of Bermuda having only returned to the Island in 2000 as the bank's chief administration officer - said the rate of private education seen here was one of the highest in the world and that it could result in a rift between classes. "The deepening divisions between those in the private system, with predominately middle class students, and the public system, with predominately working class students, is being left to become a basic, almost natural fact of life here".
- ^ "On right track? We have come a mighty long way, says principal of CedarBridge". The Royal Gazette. Bermuda. 3 February 2011. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
EVEN before it opened, CedarBridge Academy was a centre of some controversy. Many parents were unhappy about the building of what was, by Bermuda's historical standards, a mega-school. Instead of attending parish schools, nearly 1,000 pupils were expected to travel to the Prospect campus from all parts of the island. Opponents of the project were convinced that such a large comprehensive school would be at best mediocre and at worst chaotic, and that the students, many from disadvantaged backgrounds, would cover too wide a range of academic ability to fit easily under one roof.The early years, marred as they were by anti-social behaviour and violence, seemed to support those who had low expectations.... ....(Berkeley principal) Mrs. (Michelle) Gabisi and I work closely together, and we talk on a regular basis, and we are looking at more of an alignment of the schools. Even the boards are communicating.The goal is for both schools to be outstanding in what they offer and what they do, which I think is important. It is more collaborative than competitive, and there is a desire to keep it that way. The choice is open to children right now, and I think that both schools will do the best that they can in terms of what they are delivering, and then parents and children will choose accordingly.
- ^ "Emergency shelters and medical centres". Government of Bermuda. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
- ^ "Approved Emergency Shelters". Bernews. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
External links
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