PARKER MANAGEMENT CONSULTING INC (PMC Inc)

Education and Evaluation

The Group

The Education and Evaluation Practice Group is a division of PMC Inc, a full-service management consulting enterprise dedicated to providing quality services to public and private sector organizations in Canada and around the world.

The Group includes practitioners and senior decision makers who have a breadth and depth of experience, including professional familiarity with international, Canadian and Ontario education and training system models in the K-12, early childhood and post secondary education sectors. Their North American experience has included work with both Canadian and U.S. district school boards.

Group members understand the development of public policy and have the ability to navigate a variety of policy development landscapes. They have extensive experience in educational research, policy development, stakeholder relationship management, strategic and operational planning, program evaluation standards, process review and the construction, assessment and delivery of curricula for learners of all ages. They understand social, educational and labour market issues and the way those issues impact education programs and services. Their deep knowledge of the education sector is augmented by strong business analysis skills and the ability to communicate with a wide range of audiences.

Group members are always aware of the need to balance respect for practitioners and leaders while promoting innovation and encouraging practical solutions. They work collaboratively with clients and their stakeholders, and take a mentoring approach while following ethical practices.

Our Focus on Quality

The goal of the PMC Inc Education and Evaluation Practice Group is to provide value added services by means of comprehensive and customized high-quality solutions that allow clients to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of their educational systems.

The Group prides itself on quality management of all assignments with a focus on client services and the promise of no surprises. From start-up to completion, rigorous project management procedures ensure that targets are met and deliverables are supplied as contracted. The use of flexible project management models and processes incorporates and tracks changes.

In Ontario the Group’s services are aimed at supporting Ministry of Education and school board initiatives for higher levels of, and reducing gaps in, student achievement, and increased confidence in publicly funded schools.

Our Services and Areas of Specialization

The Education and Evaluation Practice Group specializes in research, evaluation, program and policy development, capacity building, training and knowledge mobilization. They are experts in offering strategic responses that enable clients to develop, manage and lead the complete cycle of their educational activities. A core area of specialization is the communication of findings for use with and by key stakeholders and policy makers. The Group specializes in all aspects of the public, private and not-for-profit sectors including:

The Core Team

The PMC Inc Education and Evaluation Practice Group is anchored by a core team of professional consultants with significant experience at senior levels in the education sector. These associates draw on strong academic backgrounds and practical experience of leadership positions in education systems to provide client organizations with the tools they need to meet their unique leadership challenges.

» Raf Di Cecco, CMC, former Executive Director of Ontario’s Royal Commission on Learning and Regional Director of the Central Ontario Regional Office for the Ontario Ministry of Education. She is currently the Director of the PMC Inc Education and Evaluation Practice Group. An experienced project manager, who has managed many program reviews and evaluations, Raf is respected for her ability to develop suggestions for improvement that are effective, practical and readily implemented.

» Beverly Freedman, previously a superintendent of education, a school inspector and a curriculum auditor, has been involved in many strategic education initiatives. She has led many research and program reviews and evaluations provincially, nationally and internationally. She has worked collaboratively with school districts on system improvement and her on-going post-doctoral research includes leadership development, school and system improvement, assistive technology for special education and the impact of gender on educational outcomes.

» Clay Lafleur, a highly respected educator and researcher, has a wide range of national and international experience in public education, government, not-for-profit organizations and post-secondary institutions. He has developed and implemented a range of reform initiatives, conducted extensive research and led research and program evaluation projects in school districts as well as provincially, nationally and internationally.

» Marjatta Longston is a recently retired Executive Officer with the Ontario Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat, having had primary provincial responsibility for working with senior administration on school district improvement planning. Prior to this she was a CEO of a British Columbia school district where she led internal reviews of IT, Special Education, Curriculum Delivery, Human Resources and Finance and Operations. The reviews resulted in an alignment and restructuring of school district functions whose best practices are being adopted by other school districts. As a Superintendent in Ontario, she was responsible for curriculum implementation, assessment and evaluation, and school improvement planning. She has also had experience in assisting schools to develop specialized programming in Indonesia, Hong Kong and China.

» Trudy Lum is a retired superintendent of educational services. Since retirement she has been working as a private consultant skilled in co-coordinating, developing, implementing and supervising provincial, faculty of education and school district directions, operational policies, programs and procedures. Trudy has provided leadership and project management in such areas as systems reviews, special education programs, the integration of technology as a teaching and learning tool, the development of on- and off-line professional learning programs for teachers, principals and supervisory officials, and in the delivery of professional development and leadership programs in school districts and the private and university sectors. Most recently she served as team leader for the Literacy Numeracy Secretariat’s K-6 OFIP Strategy as well as a team member on provincial education initiatives.

» Angela Piscitelli, a recently retired high-school principal, has qualifications in primary, junior, intermediate and senior education with up-to-date knowledge and understanding of the Ontario education system (Grades K-12). She has extensive expertise in school renewal for the improvement of student achievement and behaviour, and has participated in and led program reviews. Her extensive hands-on experience in Canada and abroad ensures that the team respects the realities of delivering solutions that are practical and that can be implemented at the school level.

» Maurice Poirier is a highly skilled facilitator/trainer and management consultant, with extensive senior management experience in public, private and not-for-profit sector environments. Fluently bilingual, Maurice brought to his work at the Ministry of Education more than two decades of classroom teaching experience at the secondary, post secondary and Faculty of Education levels, in both English- and French-language institutions. His work in provincial level policy development, implementation and review and in inter-provincial projects gives him unique expertise and an extensive professional network. Since his retirement as Regional Director of Education for Eastern Ontario, Maurice has undertaken consulting assignments that have enabled him to successfully apply his executive skills in a variety of complex and challenging areas.

» Ann Traurig is a business management professional with accomplished expertise in business analysis, training and facilitation, technology application implementations, change management and productivity improvement. She has worked in the private and public sectors and as a private consultant whose specialty was the development of trades training for a variety of skilled trades working with unions, management and government representatives. Ann fosters innovative ideas and approaches and works collaboratively with all stakeholders in providing high value results.

» Denis Vaillancourt is a well respected educator and administrator whose 40-year career spans all positions in the educational sector from classroom teacher, to principal, to a term as a school trustee, to superintendent, to Director of Education and finally to Assistant Deputy Minister at the Ontario Ministry of Education. He has held leadership positions in all four publicly funded school systems in Ontario. Over the years, he has developed skills in strategic planning, evaluation, and program development and implementation. Having spent the better part of his career in senior administrative positions in French language school districts, he has become a respected expert in French language education whether it be governance, leadership development, evaluation, policy development or program development and delivery.

» Stan Wells is a former superintendent with the Simcoe County DSB and a former education officer with the Ministry of Education. His Master’s degree is in special education and he has worked as a family of schools superintendent with responsibility for all program and operational matters including special education in large and small elementary and secondary schools in both urban and rural settings. He understands the issues that arise in providing quality education opportunities and special education programs and services in these diverse types of communities and has had responsibility for leadership development and mentoring with a focus on data based decision making in a variety of school environments. He has been involved in several provincial reviews with PMC Inc. He has also worked for CODE in a monitoring and supervision role on several of their initiatives.

In addition to this core team the group has access to additional associates with specialized skills and experiences.

Selected Client Listing

View an extensive listing of PMC Inc clients. In addition to those mentioned, a representative selection of current and former clients of the Education and Evaluation Practice Group includes:

Association Memberships

View a complete listing of the PMC Inc professional associations. Individual group members also hold membership in professional associations relevant to their particular areas of expertise or discipline including:



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