The Founding Director of Schoolhouse Consulting is Paul W. Bennett, Hons. B.A.(York), B.Ed.(Toronto), M.A.(York), Ed.D. (OISE/Toronto).
Dr. Bennett is a widely recognized leader in Canadian education. From 1997 until 2009, Paul served as Headmaster of two of Canada’s leading independent coeducational day schools, Halifax Grammar School and Lower Canada College.
For over thirty years, Paul taught History and Social Sciences in six different secondary schools, public as well as private, in three provinces, Ontario, Quebec, and Nova Scotia. He is the author of three nationally recognized Canadian History textbooks, including Canada: A North American Nation (1988 and 1995), and has twice been a top ten finalist for the Governor General’s Award for Teaching Excellence in Canadian History.
He has also played an active role in promoting educational reform. While serving as a Public School Trustee with the York Region Board of Education (1988-1997), Paul founded the Ontario School Board Reform Network (1990) and was a Co-founder of the Coalition for Education Reform, an umbrella group promoting higher standards and greater accountability in Ontario public education.
Since the founding of the Dominion Institute and the Historica Foundation, Paul has been a strong public advocate in defence of Canadian history in our schools. In 2008-09, he served on the National Advisory Committee for Dominion Institute’s Canadian History Report Card project.
His most recent book, The Grammar School: Striving for Excellence in a Public School World (2009), explores the impact of changes in public education on the fate of a school pursuing higher educational standards.
Our Consulting Team
On each Schoolhouse project, Paul will play a central role, drawing upon the expertise of his extensive network of contacts and associates at all levels of Canadian education.
“American novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald once said that in life there are no second acts.
He simply did not live long enough.” Frank McCourt, Teacher Man ( 2005)
What's New
ANNOUNCING - NEW EDUCATION SERIES - Paul W. Bennett's first Education File Report for OPENFILE Halifax on "Alternative School Programs" appeared Sept 27, 2011. [more...]
BOOK LAUNCH - Paul W. Bennett's DREAMING BIG: The Don Gardiner Realty Story made a big splash on Sept 14, 2011 in Fredericton and Oromocto NB with City Hall Receptions and great press coverage.
[more....]
BOOK REVIEW - Dr. Michael Corbett's review of Vanishing Schools, Threatened Communities (Sunday Herald, July 31, 2011) praised the book for offering a much needed "scholarly look" at the "emotional issue" of school closures.
PUBLIC LECTURE TOUR - Schoolhouse Director Paul Bennett's Public Lecture Tour made stops in Yarmouth NS (Sept. 2), Windsor NS (Sept. 8), and Antigonish NS (Sept. 12) and were rebroadcast on Eastlink TV's Podium Series.
UP AGAINST EDUTOPIA - Paul W. Bennett's "Up Against Edutopia: Dr. James Daly's Lonely Crusade against the Spectre of Progressivism, 1968-1983," is the lead article in the Spring 2011 issue of Historical Studies in Education [more...]
ONGOING INITIATIVES: NEWS COMMENTARIES - Since September, Dr. Paul Bennett has provided Education News analysis for CBC Radio's Maritime Noon and CBC Mainstreet NS as well as regular spots on News 95.7's Maritime Morning and The Rick Howe Show.
STUDENTS FIRST NOVA SCOTIA - Since late March 2011, the Schoolhouse Institute, in collaboration with AIMS, has supported Nova Scotia's parent-driven school reform movement "putting students first." (see
video)
POLICY RESEARCH PROJECTS REPORT:
In early October 2011, Schoolhouse Consulting completed a major research report on "International Schools" for the Canadian Association of Accredited Schools (CAIS).
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Testimonials
"Canadians are properly concerned about their children's education, and Dr. Paul Bennett is well versed on the major issues. He's a veteran teacher and a respected historian who brings a vital awareness of the past as well as the present to a field in need of some serious research."
Dr. Desmond Morton, Distinguished Professor of History, McGill University, Montreal.
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