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PRINCE GEORGE – A new StrongStart BC Outreach program is now operating in the Prince George school district in order to reach as many preschool-age children as possible, announced Education Minister and Prince George-Mount Robson MLA Shirley Bond and Prince George North MLA Pat Bell.
“The StrongStart BC program is making a difference in Prince George and across the Province. The current 190 programs operating across B.C. are doing an excellent job and provide support for hundreds of families at their neighbourhood schools,” said Bond. “The StrongStart BC outreach program that we are now funding allows School District #57 to serve more remote and rural parts of the district. It will help expand access to more families who cannot attend the current programs.”
In the Prince George school district, the StrongStart BC Outreach program will be provided at Shady Valley, Salmon Valley and Nukko Lake Elementary schools in Prince George, as well as Hixon Elementary in Hixon.
StrongStart BC Outreach program provides the high quality early learning programs in communities where a StrongStart BC early learning centre would not be a viable model, based on the following criteria:
· remoteness from a school that has a centre, or is likely to have a centre;
· small number of preschool-aged children in the community; and
· limited access to early learning programs in the area, specifically rural or remote communities.
The StrongStart BC Outreach program
provides play-based early learning experiences led by a qualified early
childhood educator. Children will have the opportunity to grow linguistically, emotionally
and socially, and become comfortable in a school-like setting.
“This government believes that all
children, no matter where they live in B.C., deserve the same opportunities to
grow and learn,” said
The Prince George school district received $50,000 for the StrongStart BC Outreach program. This includes $20,000 for start-up and learning materials and $30,000 to fund this year's operating costs, including staff, professional development, supplies and healthy snacks. The school district will continue with the StrongStart BC Outreach in the coming school year.
All of B.C.’s 60 school districts have been offered the opportunity to participate in the StrongStart BC program. The Province is investing $43 million to expand the StrongStart BC program. StrongStart BC programs also help fulfil government’s election platform to be the best-educated, most literate jurisdiction on the continent and throne speech commitments to use underutilized school district space as centres to deliver early learning services.
“We realized that a part of our population was unable to access StrongStart BC early learning centres,” said Prince George Board of Education chair Lyn Hall. “The outreach program enables more families to take part in the StrongStart BC early learning program.”
Since 2001, government has invested more than $154 million in new literacy initiatives, including pre-literacy and early learning programs such as almost $15 million to operate the kindergarten readiness program Ready, Set, Learn and $2.7 million for the ActNow Literacy Education Activity and Play (LEAP BC) program that encourages literacy, physical activity and healthy eating in preschool-age children.
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Ministry of Education 250 356-5963 |
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For more information on government services or to subscribe to the Province’s news feeds using RSS, visit the Province’s website at www.gov.bc.ca. |
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