Book Launch - VANISHING SCHOOLS, THREATENED COMMUNITIES will be officially  launched on Wed. May 4 at Alderney Gate Library, Dartmouth, 7-9 pm. Join us for a Book Talk and Launch Party. All are welcome.
Book Talks - Dr. Paul Bennett is going on the road in May 2011 giving Book Talks and Signings throughout Maritime Canada. Official Launches will also be held in PEI (May 24) and Fredericton (May 30) during the 2011 Humanities and Social Sciences Congress.
Public Talks - Our Director will be giving a series of public talks on a range of issues:
Tues. Apr 26 – "School Accountability," Closing Panel, SQE Measuring Up Symposium, Toronto.
Thur. April 29 – "The Mighty Canyon" at The History Education Network (THEN/HiER) Symposium, Hotel Arts, Calgary, Alberta, 8:30 am.
Mon. May 30 – "Endangered Schoolhouses" at the 2011 Canadian Historical Association Annual Conference, St. Thomas University, NB, 11 am.
Students First Nova Scotia Declaration Unveiled
On Monday March 28th, concerned parents and citizens from across Nova Scotia gathered at a Public Forum in Halifax and released a bold
Declaration of
Principles, entitled "Students First Nova Scotia."
 Drafted by a group of 16 Nova Scotians, the
Declaration proclaims that “students should come first” in education, “not adults in the system.” It calls upon concerned citizens to rally behind a reform agenda exhorting education authorities to “elevate teaching, empower parents, raise standards, and spend wisely.”
The
Declaration was introduced by four public school parents, Steven Rhude of Lunenburg, Catherine Levy of Porters Lake, Peggy Chisholm of Fall River, and Rhonda Brown of Hammonds Plains.
“It’s about time we put students first, and that's why I am stepping forward,” says Peggy Chisholm, one of the founding group members.
"We need a system that is more flexible and adaptive to the needs of every student," declared Catherine Levy, co-ordinator of the Choice Words Group, HRM.
"Putting students first," Steven Rhude stated, "means preserving community schools, like ours, the historic Lunenburg Academy."
The Public Forum on "Putting Students First in Education," sponsored by the Schoolhouse Institute and the
Atlantic Institute for Market Studies (AIMS), attracted a crowd of concerned parents and educators from across Nova Scotia.
Michael Zwaagstra, author of
What's Wrong with our Schools.. And How Can We Fix Them? was the featured speaker and he shared the platform with a reaction panel of prominent citizens and parent activists, including
Doretta Wilson (Society for Quality Education, Toronto),
Charles Cirtwill (President of AIMS), and Denise Delorey (Save Community Schools, Antigonish).
The new group plans to meet to begin the process of formally establishing itself as an independent voice in Nova Scotia public education. Parents and citizens across the province will be invited to sign the declaration and join the fledgling movement for school reform.
For more information please contact Paul W. Bennett, Director of Schoolhouse Institute, at
director@schoolhouseconsulting.ca
. Click
here
to read
the
Declaration.
New Research Projects Initiated
Schoolhouse Consulting Director Paul Bennett has recently finalized contracts to conduct surveys and produce research reports for the Canadian Association of Independent Schools (SEAL) and the Society for Quality Education, based in Toronto.
Teacher Education Study
Schoolhouse Director Paul Bennett is the Project Consultant working with
Thinkwell Research of Halifax on a major study based upon a survey of Nova Scotia Faculty of Education graduates over the past two years. The project, initiated in February 2010, is being undertaken for the Nova Scotia Department of Education.
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