Charlottetown – When improved student achievement is required, it matters not where good ideas come from. What matters is that they work in making sure our children get an education that equips them to succeed. To help with this work, the Atlantic Institute for Market Studies (AIMS) brought one of Canada’s top school leaders, former Islander and UPEI graduate Angus McBeath, to the province’s Task Force on Student Achievement.

You could hear a pin drop as Mr. McBeath, superintendent of Edmonton Public Schools, shared with the task force members his experience and success making the Edmonton school system one of the best in the country.

“AIMS is committed to helping the PEI task force accomplish its goals,” said Brian Lee Crowley, president of AIMS. “Bringing one of the top public school leaders to the task force, at AIMS’ expense, is an important contribution to that work. The Edmonton school system is heralded as a model of what public education can be, and is studied by educators around the continent. In fact, Edmonton was recently ranked one of the top school systems in North America by Professor William Ouchi in his book Making Schools Work: A Revolutionary Plan to Get Your Children the Education They Need. We believe it is invaluable for PEI educators to hear first hand how public schools can be improved, from the person who is making it happen in Edmonton.”

Mr. McBeath told the task force that what Edmonton is doing can be done anywhere in Canada.

“This work does not require a huge investment, it can be accomplished with existing people and dollars,” said Mr. McBeath. “The system has to decide and publicly state what it considers to be good results, figure out how to measure progress toward those results and then make public both the good and weak results. You also need to give administrators, principals, and teachers all the support and training they need to achieve excellence for their students and themselves.”

“You need to focus on the best,” Mr. McBeath told the task force. “In the absence of your own agenda, everyone else’s will do. Student achievement can be improved when educators are properly trained and supported, they are accountable, performance is measured, and the results are then used to improve and fix things.”

The chair of the PEI task force, Dr. Richard Kurial, warmly thanked AIMS and Mr. McBeath for their contribution to the task force deliberations and asked that they both be available to further support its work.

Angus McBeath retires as Edmonton superintendent in October and joins AIMS as a Senior Fellow. An educator for 32 years, Angus McBeath began his teaching career on Prince Edward Island.

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For further information, contact:

Brian Lee Crowley, AIMS President, 902-499-1998