Bermuda High School principal Linda Parker passes the torch - Royal Gazette

Retiring principal Linda Parker with students at the Bermuda High School for Girls (Photograph supplied)

After two decades at Bermuda High School for Girls, principal Linda Parker is taking early retirement to travel the world.

In September, she embarks on a five-month trip by herself.

“When I tell people I am going alone, they sometimes react in disbelief,” she said. “But when they see I am serious, they share my excitement. I tell them I won’t be alone, I’ll be with three other people, ‘me, myself and I’. Decisions are a lot easier when it’s only you making them.”

She does not expect to be lonely. She will be meeting people she knows along the way, and also hopes to make new friends.

“Now that I have ended this chapter, it is now time to open a new chapter,” she said.

It has been a few years since she last travelled by herself, but being newly single, she is up for the challenge.

She plans to visit her son, Chris, and three grandchildren, Jack, Will and Charley, in England for a few weeks, then hit Dubai, Singapore, Bali and Australia.

“In Australia, I am taking a four-day train ride and then heading to New Zealand,” she said. “Then it will be on to Hong Kong and New Delhi.”

Retiring feels bittersweet for Ms Parker.

“I had 20 years at BHS and six at CedarBridge,” she said. “I will definitely miss the students, the parents and staff.”

She is proud of the work she has done at BHS.

“In 2003, I came in as a secondary English teacher,” she said. “I became head of secondary, then head of the school in 2007.”

When she took over the role, her goal was to improve science and art education at BHS. There was just one problem — she needed $11.2 million.

Ms Parker said: “Someone said, have you ever asked anyone for $11.2 million before? I said no. They said, do you think you’ll be able to get it? I said no.”

The first time she made a multimillion-dollar request, her heart was beating hard.

“I was scared, but I was passionate about the subject,” she said.

Despite her doubts, the donor said yes.

It took Ms Parker and a team of staff, parents and friends of the school three years to raise the money.

“I had to do this after work because during the day I still had my regular job to do,” she said. “It was a great feat when we reached our goal.”

Outgoing Bermuda High School principal Linda Parker, centre, at the ground breaking of the school’s Innovations Centre site in January 2019 (Photograph by Akil Simmons)

When the school’s Innovations Centre opened in November 2020, there was little fanfare because of the pandemic. Ms Parker now considers the Innovations Centre her proudest achievement.

It added 14,000 square feet of space to the school including science facilities. The old science labs were turned into a visual arts space, and BHS also introduced a black box theatre.

From the windows of the Innovations Centre, Ms Parker can see the older part of BHS, which stretches back 129 years.

“There is a real juxtaposition between the old and the new,” she said. “I feel my job is done as far as getting that up and running. It is the heart of the school. When you are in there you feel like, wow, this is the 21st century.”

Ms Parker graduated from the school herself in 1978.

BHS at that time was quite different.

“There was not a lot of racial integration,” she said. “It was also very strict. When you walked in the hallways you had to walk on the left and stay silent.”

Skirts had to be kept to a certain length, and teachers measured to make sure.

Linda Parker, second row second right, with the BHS Class of 1978 (Photograph supplied)

Ms Parker shone at the school.

“From the start I had a world-class education,” she said. “I feel very honoured to have been allowed to come to a private school. I was one of few in my immediate family who had that opportunity.”

Her Latin teacher, Jo Birdsey Linberg, inspired her to become a teacher.

“I wasn’t the brightest student in the class but she helped me to see what was possible,” Ms Parker said. “She pushed, she pulled, she created a spark which became a burning light. That is our job. That is always our goal as teachers.”

Ms Parker studied education at Queen’s University in Canada, then went on to achieve a master’s degree at Exeter University in Devon, England.

“I was well prepared for university on both sides of the Atlantic,” she said.

Today she is a great fan of single-sex education. She believes that girls are more focused in an environment without the distraction of “young men”, and there are no stereotypes about what subjects are suitable for girls.

“Here every girl shines,” she said. “In the science lab, on the field, on the stage or in the classroom, they have every opportunity to lead. Even the most shy student will step forward.”

Over the years she has taught hundreds of children, their parents and a few of their grandparents.

“Every child has strengths,” she said. “I see them as shining stars. Our job as educators is to strengthen the areas that need strengthening.”

Raising two sons, Chris and Nick, her household was male-dominated.

“Once I painted my living room pink to drum up some girl power,” she laughed. “I also made sure my animals were girls to give things some balance.”

For that reason it was a nice change for her to teach in a female institution.

“Males and females think differently, and act differently as well,” she said. “Girls like to talk when they learn. Using the voice for girls is very important. Girls are more detail-oriented.”

Last month, BHS held a special evening to celebrate Ms Parker’s retirement. Her younger son, Nick, attended, but she thought her older son, Chris, was overseas.

“After the speeches, Chris, his wife and three children were on a video,” she said. “Technology does not always work, and I could not hear what they were saying. I was leaning forward trying to hear when I felt a tap on my back. It was Chris. He was here for 36 hours and then went back to the UK. It was exciting to be surprised like that.”

Ms Parker is now helping the school’s new principal, Carol Swainson, an American, to settle in. She says her final goodbyes at the end of the month.

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