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This issue of Progress contains the fourth AIMS High School Report Card. At the risk of getting all preachy, allow me to reiterate why it matters. Simply put, it’s a tool for making progress toward improving our public education system.
Everyone agrees that the quality of education matters to our economic future. It also is self-evident that if the next generation is not adequately prepared for the post-secondary system and, ultimately, to participate in the workforce, our competitiveness and productivity will suffer. Don’t forget demographics: There will be fewer workers to support you retiring baby boomers. I think it’s fair to say that we need the next generation to be as equipped as possible when it comes to creating prosperity.
But enough of that. Stories about progress are what excite me—like when I see evidence of the Report Card being viewed by educators as a challenge. This is partly the case for Greater Moncton’s School District 2, which has been working hard for the past few years to improve its eight high schools, with a strong focus on preparing a “work-ready” labour force for New Brunswick. Writer Alec Bruce told me that Greater Moncton’s experience is an “object lesson in progress,” chiefly the degree to which the district has engaged the private sector in crafting its policies and programs.
My hope is that this example will encourage other businesses to respond to this kind of community outreach or to initiate it. With the participation of an engaged private sector, Greater Moncton’s high schools have developed co-op and apprenticeship programs, skilled-trades pilots, transition-to-work programs, and entrepreneurship courses. Local businesses and the students themselves have all benefited. Go to page 39 and get inspired.
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Our own curiosity sparked the companion feature about Edmonton’s education reforms, which are successful to the point that the system is now seen as a model by North American standards. Edmonton-based writer Allan Chambers caught up with former schools superintendent Angus McBeath over the holidays to prepare an insightful feature on the background of this revolutionary decades-long project. Now an advocate for education reform, Atlantic Canadian native McBeath also well understands this region’s unique situation. While he cautions that “you can’t just take the Edmonton idea and slam it down someplace else,” he observes that Atlantic Canada can be “remarkably open” and is a “good place for workable reforms.” There is plenty to learn from McBeath and the Edmonton experience, and it starts on page 33.
In this issue’s Working Capital section, Kevin Yarr sheds some light on the state
of angel financing in the region, a phenomenon that is formalizing with the expansion of the First Angel Network Association. It’s inspiring to note that this kind of financing breeds a level of connectivity and mentoring that enhances the obvious benefits to the entrepreneurs and the investors. Plus, they get to have dinner.
Speaking of dinner, I had the pleasure of being a guest of John and Lyndy Rohman when I visited Bangor in December with my colleague Bob Scott. In this issue, we feature the couple and their landmark home. John and Lyndy typify the progressive people who are driving Bangor’s efforts to be more connected to the region we call Atlantica. Writer Kristen Andresen reveals that one historian described the city’s 19th-century hustle and bustle as a mindset of “go-aheaditiveness.” That’s a history worth repeating. |
