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1. Defunding independent schools in Alberta will increase taxpayer costs, diminish school choice for parents

   As reported in the Edmonton Sun, Public Interest Alberta, an advocacy group, has called for an end to the funding of independent schools (private) in Alberta and the absorption of charter schools into the public school system, ...

2. Reality check on education spending in Ontario

   Appeared in the Toronto Sun, March 16, 2016 There’s a lot to criticize in Ontario's 2016 budget, which was released late last month. Specifically, the province has failed to take adequate steps to rein in overall spending, and as a result the ...

3. Ontario in no position to increase teacher salaries

   Appeared in National Newswatch, March 12, 2016 The Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation, one of Ontario’s largest teachers’ unions, wants to bolster its strike fund, apparently readying itself for possible labour action when its current contract ...

4. The reality of public education in Canada: spending up, enrolment down

   I regularly receive enquiries about the trends I see emerging in education. I’m not positioned to make predictions, but the work we’ve done in the past year in the Barbara Mitchell Centre does point to some dramatic changes in the last ...

5. Education in Newfoundland and Labrador: fewer students, more spending, poorer results

   As Newfoundland and Labrador’s government prepares its budget for the coming fiscal period, the province should not ignore some basic facts related to education spending—facts the Newfoundland and Labrador Employers’ Council asked me to ...

6. Alberta rejects new charter schools despite evidence of widespread benefits

   Appeared in the Toronto Sun, February 27, 2016 Alberta Education Minister David Eggen recently rejected two applications for new charter schools—a school for special needs students and a Spanish-language school with an emphasis on science. That is ...

7. Education spending restraint could have improved the fiscal state of provinces across Canada

   As provincial governments across Canada draft budgets for the coming fiscal period, a reminder about the impact of restraint, particularly in the larger areas of spending including education, is relevant. In a recent study, Enrolments ...

8. Charters schools: outside the school board behemoth

   A recent article in the National Post raised the specter of colossal school boards in Canada, particularly in big cities such as Toronto and Vancouver, and the bloated bureaucracies that consume taxpayer money with seemingly little ...

9. Charter schools, largely ignored in Canada, offer good results for disadvantaged students in U.S.

   Appeared in the Edmonton Sun, December 10, 2015 A common Canadian value is the equal opportunity for success that basic education offers young people. It is the reason why citizens accept and support the vast amount of resources spent on K-12 education ...

10. A Primer on Charter Schools

    Charter schools are autonomous public schools that provide innovative or enhanced education programs designed to improve student learning. Operating outside of local school boards and governed by their own board of trustees, they are accountable for ...