Lead Consultant

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 an education policy analyst and a regular news commentator covering Canadian education for The Chronicle Herald, OpenFile Halifax, CBC Radio Nova Scotia, News 95.7, and Our Kids Magazine. Over the past two years, his articles have appeared in both the popular and academic press, including Progress Magazine, the RNS Historical Society Journal, and Historical Studies in Education.

As Director of Schoolhouse Consulting, Paul has conducted policy research and produced reports for the Atlantic Institute of Market Studies (AIMS), the Canadian Accredited Independent Schools (CAIS), the Society for Quality Education, and Thinkwell Research (for the Nova Scotia Department of Education).

His first AIMS Commentary, "School's Out, Again: Why Throw-Away School Days Hurt Students"(April 2010), sparked public debate over the high incidence of snow days in Nova Scotia and neighboring Maritime provinces.

Two of his most recent books are The Grammar School: Striving for Excellence in a Public School World (2009), and Vanishing Schools, Threatened Communities: The Contested Schoolhouse in Maritime Canada, 1850-2010 (2011).

Dr. Bennett is also 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. In March 2011, he co-chaired the founding meeting of Students First Nova Scotia, a province-wide group committed to "putting students first" in P -12 public education.

Currently, Paul also serves as an Adjunct Professor of Education at Saint Mary’s University, a Member of the Halifax Public Library Board, and President of the Canadian International Council, Halifax Branch."

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.

What's New

COMMUNITY HUB SCHOOLS INITIATIVE: Dr. Paul W. Bennett has proposed that threatened Small Rural Schools be transformed into Community Hubs. In a Commentary in The Chronicle Herald and a TV Interview on Global Maritimes Morning News, he explained the concept and cited examples of Nova Scotia school projects underway. Nova Scotia's daily newspaper endorsed the proposal on March 29, 2013 in an editorial entitled "Small School Closures: Think bigger."

PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT PROJECT: Since early February 2013, our Schoolhouse Director has been touring Nova Scotia promoting a Public Engagement strategy in place of the divisive School Review process. His quixotic provincial campaign in defense of small schools was profiled in The Chronicle Herald and the Yarmouth Vanguard covered the tour stop in South West Nova Scotia.

CANADIAN EDUCATION REPORT CARD 2012: Schoolhouse Director Paul W. Bennett's 2012 annual review, "Scares, Misadventures, and Reversals in Canadian K-12 Education," appeared in The Mark News, January, 3, 2013

POLICY RESEARCH REPORTS: Three of the most recent reports focused on Special Education, Schools and Rural Revitalization, and Online Learning. Here are the links: Inclusive Education in New Brunswick (AIMS, June 14, 2012) entitled Building a Bigger Tent , Schools at the Centre (Nova Scotia Small Schools Initiative, May 15, 2012) summarized at Revitalizing Rural Education, and Online Learning in Canada’s K-12 public schools, entitled The Sky Has Limits. A Guide for Leadership Transitions was produced in September 2012 for the Canadian Association of Accredited Independent Schools (CAIS).

ONGOING INITIATIVES:
MAKING THE NEWS: Since January 2012, Paul Bennett has produced fifteen more news commentaries and book reviews for The Chronicle Herald as well as periodic news analysis reports for News 95.7 Halifax and CBC Radio Nova Scotia.

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