Donald Montgomery

MONTGOMERY, DONALD, educator and school administrator; b. 3 May 1848 in Valleyfield, son of Malcolm Montgomery and Christine McDonald; m. 10 August 1887 Mary Isabella McPhail, and there were no children; United/Presbyterian; d. 14 May 1890 in Charlottetown. Montgomery, a Conservative, was first elected to the House of Assembly in a by-election held September 1878 for 4th Queens. He was reelected in the general election of 1879. He resigned on 25 September 1879 to accept the appointment of Chief Superintendent of Education. Montgomery went to school in Valleyfield, later attending Prince of Wales College in Charlottetown for at least one year, where he placed first in his class. Montgomery attended the Island's Normal School, and, by the early 1870s, was master of the Harrington grammar school. On 25 August 1874, he was appointed Master of the Normal School and Model School, where he focussed on training teachers. In September 1877, Montgomery was dismissed from this position by the L. H. Davies coalition government, which believed he lacked the qualities necessary to transform the Normal school into a more professional institution. Montgomery moved to Montreal to study law at McGill. On 25 September 1879, Premier W. W. Sullivan* selected Montgomery to be Chief Superintendent of Education. His duties were to enforce the Public Schools Act of 1877, to prepare annual reports on provincial education, to suggest improvements to the system, and to supervise publicly funded education. It is reported he carried out these tasks successfully. Montgomery classified Island schools according to the level of work done in each, introduced a uniform course of studies for each grade, and encouraged the improvement of school accommodations. He promoted continuing training and development for teachers. Montgomery helped establish the Provincial Education Institute, which held an annual two-day professional development convention for teachers in October. Montgomery served as its first president. Montgomery played perhaps the single most important role in putting the Public School Act of 1877 into practice. When he died, while still Chief Superintendent, the province had a progressive educational system. Donald Montgomery died 14 May 1890.