Video: Reporter: Ashley King. On March 28, 2011, concerned parents and citizens from across Nova Scotia gathered at a Public Forum in Halifax to hear Michael Zwaagstra, author of What’s Wrong with our Schools (2010) and to discuss the formation of a new school reform movement, Students First Nova Scotia.

The Speakers

The Forum was moderated by Dr. Paul W. Bennett, Director of the Schoolhouse Institute. Manitoba high school teacher Zwaagstra is 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)

Following the introductory talks, the audience participated in a frank, open discussion of the state of public education. It ended with the unveiling of 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 founding group plans to meet soon 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 visit:  www.schoolhouseconsulting.ca