By Chris Treadwell
Originally published in “FOCUS on New Brunswick”, Aug 2026, pages 10–13 (www.creativecitizens.ca)
Our people are New Brunswick’s most important resource; therefore, it is critical that the Province’s education system is effective in having each child reach their potential.
Each child should be prepared for a life where they can be self-actualized, have a choice of career, pay their bills, and avoid a life of just getting by, with the anxiety and depression that may result from economic stress. With the test scores of the province at or near the lowest in Canada, it is questionable that our school system is providing the education our children need. The New Brunswick economy requires a workforce that is competitive, where people earn enough to thrive.
Presently, New Brunswick employees are the least productive in Canada. If our education system is struggling to give children the ability to read, write and do math, it is likely that the education system is also contributing to the workforce productivity challenges New Brunswick faces.
To improve the opportunities for New Brunswickers, education needs to be improved. It is time to stop tinkering. Deep innovation is needed to get us out of this situation. We don’t need a new type of gas for the vehicle, we need a new form of transportation!
New Brunswick has many excellent, dedicated teachers and good schools. The problem is not that our teachers are less competent than in other parts of the country. We do have good schools, well led by teachers who are highly motivated to be effective. Yes, every teacher can improve through professional learning opportunities. Yes, every school could benefit from a larger budget. But piling resources on top of a creaky foundation is not the answer. The present structure contributes to the morale problems teachers face due to challenging classroom composition issues, student attendance concerns, and lack of effective means to hold students accountable for behavior and productivity.
Presently, community voice in schools comes from the occasional opportunity for people to attend a public session, such as regarding French Immersion, a new education plan, et cetera. Also, there are Parent School Support Committees (PSSCs) and District Education Councils (DECs) populated by caring community members, but in many cases where people are not voted in but are acclimated.
This community process in place now is not powerful enough to drive the deep change in the system needed to improve the learning that our students require to ensure they have the quality of future life they deserve.
New Brunswick’s education system is a monopoly. Monopolies do not tend to be accountable or particularly innovative. What if your child attends a school where 80% of the class fails the Grade 5 provincial math assessment? Is there an outcry? Is it “all hands on deck” to help these children catch up and make sure the next class writing does not get the same results? It does not appear so. The chances of these students catching up is limited, as once children get behind, it is hard to close the gap.
The prognosis for these children ever getting a job where there is a high level of math needed is not very good. Failure seems to be normalized. PSSCs and DECs, as well meaning and devoted as they are, do not have power to deeply influence the monopoly structure to the extent necessary for substantial change.
True community voice needs to be amplified through choice. The provinces to the west of New Brunswick have offered their citizens choice. They do so by giving them up to 50% of what it costs to educate a student in the public system to go to the learning environment of their choice.
If it costs nearly $20,000 to educate a child in public schools, the parent would receive $7,000 towards home schooling costs or private school tuition. This would break the monopoly of the present system. It would provide parents of middle class, and even those of lower socioeconomic conditions, a greater opportunity to choose the type of learning environment they think best suits their child. This option is presently usually only available to homes that have significant discretionary incomes.
The concern that giving parents more choice—and financial support—in how to educate their children through government funding will weaken the present form of public schooling in New Brunswick has not had such an effect on Alberta and British Columbia; their education systems are among the best in Canada. These provinces have multiple environments for learning, such as home schooling, charter schools and numerous private schools.
As for the concern that New Brunswick does not want a two-tier system, it is too late to worry about that. Our French Immersion system already creates a two-tier structure, often with children from lower socioeconomic families and rural schools in the English track, where behavioral challenges are more common than in the French Immersion stream.
Also, there is at least one year of learning difference between rural and urban New Brunswick students at age 15, the age at which students write the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), the gold standard for assessing educational performance.
Perhaps it would be helpful if we were to extend the definition of public schools in New Brunswick to include home schooling, charter schools and private schools through funding support. The Premier and Minister of Education are the Premier and Minister of Education for ALL children, not just those students who attend the current definition of public schools. After all, all families pay taxes, whether their children are home-schooled or attend private schools. Surely, students in these learning environments will contribute to the quality of life and economy of New Brunswick, and investing in them will, in the future, benefit New Brunswick.
It is time to be open-minded to a sincere discussion about significant educational innovation in New Brunswick. Our learning results, and the children who must live with them, indicate that the quality of life of our citizens and the economy of New Brunswick are being negatively impacted by an education system that is not preparing our children for today’s society. The issue is not about the people in the present education system; from the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development to classroom teachers, education assistants, et cetera, they are generally dedicated and competent and care about their students. It is about the structure they work in. It is time for the politicians and bureaucracy to really listen to new, alternative approaches to learning in New Brunswick. Our children deserve such a discussion.
Chris Treadwell is Academic Director of East Coast Leadership Academy. Chris has been a cornerstone of education in New Brunswick since 1985.