On Monday, March 28, 2011, the Atlantic Institute for Market Studies (AIMS) helped to facilitate a grassroots initiative to improve our education system. AIMS, in coordination with the Schoolhouse Consulting, hosted a public forum on education, entitled Putting Students First and Fixing Our Schools.
Click here to view Haligonia’s livestream of AIMS’ public education forum.
Featured speaker Michael Zwaagstra, AIMS author and author of What’s Wrong With Our Schools…and how we can fix them (2010), spoke about the issues within our public school system, and offered a comparative look at how other provinces manage their systems. A diverse reaction panel including AIMS President and CEO Charles Cirtwill helped to foster this discussion.
Charles Cirtwill and Schoolhouse Consulting Director Paul W. Bennett wrote a piece in the Chronicle Herald discussing accountability in the public education system. Click here to read the full op-ed.
Concerned parents, teachers, school board members and union representatives gathered to have an open discussion about the issues with our school system. All committed to public education, many productive ideas came out of this opportunity, facilitated by AIMS.
One of these ideas was a bold declaration of principles entitled Students First Nova Scotia. Four public school parents were among the concerned citizens who championed this grassroots initiative.
The new group is beginning to formally establish itself as an independent voice in Nova Scotia public education. They are inviting parents and citizens across the province to sign the declaration and join the fledgling movement for school reform.
Click here to check out their Declaration of Principles.
This public forum and resulting agenda is one of the many ways the Atlantic Institute for Market Studies helps to facilitate citizen-driven discussion and initiatives that inspire positive policy change in Atlantic Canada.