Another financial link between Doug Willms and the Dept. of Education
13 04 2008Read the following in an email:
People have mentioned the contractual relationship between KSI and the government which, in and of itself, raises questions of impartiality and provides a direct relationship between the Dept. of Education and Willms. However, I think there is another compelling association between them. As you all know, Willms is the Director of the Canadian Research Institute for Social Policy (CRISP). He is one of the principal investigators of the “NB Schools Early Literacy Project.” Elizabeth Sloat is the lead investigator but Willms is also one of the principal investigators. It is a study involving a number of school districts in which they are examining the effectiveness of certain assessment tools in identifying struggling students early on, which would allow for early intervention. The kicker is that the study is partially funded by the NB Dept. of Education, to the tune of $50,000 a year for 5 years ($250,000 in total). The study began in 2003.
What NB-PPP hasn’t looked shady over the last 20 years?
If the study began in 2003, wouldn’t that have been with the previous Conservative gov’t. This doesn’t seem to jive with your “best buds” theory between Wilms and the Liberal NB gov’t.
A side note, in no way am I saying I agree with Wilms, however I believe you are greatly exagerating the link between them. If you look back into their previously published reports you will find that they have been saying the exact same thing for years. Well before the changes introduced by the Liberals.
Darrell
Darrell, I don’t think we are in disagreement. Willms has longstanding financial ties to the N.B. DoE, and his views, happily for him, are particularly in tune with those of the current Minister. And yes, there has certainly been a cadre of opponents of French immersion ever since it was introduced, including Patricia Lee and Kelly Lamrock’s father. So I certainly agree with you that this has been a long time building. The only thing that was lacking was a minister of ed. willing to play ball.
Darrell, I don’t think we are in disagreement. Willms has longstanding financial ties to the N.B. DoE, and his views, happily for him, are particularly in tune with those of the current Minister. And yes, there has certainly been a cadre of opponents of French immersion ever since it was introduced, including Patricia Lee and Kelly Lamrock’s father. So I certainly agree with you that this has been a long time building. The only thing that was lacking was a minister of ed. willing to play ball.