Early Childhood Educators Make a Difference in BC's Newest StrongStart Program

MLAs Shirley Bond and Pat Bell officially inaugurated one of province's newest StrongStart BC programs today. Offered at the Ecole Franco-Nord depart centre, a Conseil Scolaire Francophone (CSF) school in Prince George, it is one of more than 300 StrongStart BC programs in the province.

StrongStart BC are early learning programs that help pre-school aged children develop linguistically, emotionally and socially.

Led by Early Childhood Educators (ECEs), pre-school aged children and a parent/caregiver, are led through activities in storytelling, music, and art. The activities are designed to nurture children's development linguistically, emotionally and socially while familiarizing them to the school-like setting.

"We recognize the importance of early learning and have made programs like StrongStart BC a priority," said Shirley Bond. The government is committing $43 million to expand the program to deliver early learning services. With new programs in development, that could be more career opportunities for early childhood educators in the future.

To find more information about becoming an ECE, see the Ministry of Education's list of approved private and public training institutions in BC. Search for Early Childhood Educator opportunities in the 'Support' job category of Makeafuture.ca.