$1 Million to Train Early-Childhood Educators

Grants to Nova Scotia early-childhood education training institutions will lead to a higher quality of care for the province's youngest citizens. Early Childhood Development Agreement grants totalling over $1 million are being distributed to seven institutions across the province.

"These grants will ensure that early-childhood educators in Nova Scotia receive supports that lead to quality care for young children," said Community Services Minister Peter Christie. "Improving early childhood education is a necessary step toward our overall goal of providing a high-quality child-care environment, helping Nova Scotia children grow up great."

The Early Childhood Development Training Initiatives will provide opportunities for early-childhood education (ECE) pre-service and in-service training. Pre-service training will benefit students enrolled in two-year ECE diploma programs and the Bachelor of Applied Arts (Child and Youth Study) degree program.

Grant recipients are as follows:

• Nova Scotia Community College, Kingstec Campus, Burridge Campus and Cumberland Campus. Initiatives at these sites will include early-childhood education resource/in-service support centres, mentorship programs and networking opportunities.

• St. Joseph's College of Early Childhood Education will focus on tutoring, counselling and study skills, an ECE resource/in- service support centre and a portfolio development program.

• An innovative program through the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia will see the creation of an art education course for early- childhood educators to strengthen art programs/activities for children aged six and under. The program will also design art education kits that will be made available to child-care centres.

• The Institute for Human Services will develop an ECE diploma program for Cape Breton, including establishment of an ECE resource/in-service support centre.

• College de l'Acadie will focus on recruitment initiatives and increase accessibility of training through the establishment of online diploma courses.

• Le Centre provincial de resources prescolaires will provide basic-, intermediate- and advanced-level workshops/conferences for Acadian and francophone early-childhood educators throughout Nova Scotia.

• Mount Saint Vincent University will concentrate on increasing the accessibility of training.

"This funding will enable us to carry out several initiatives, including the creation of online/distance versions of our courses and development and provision of a management administration course for early-childhood educators," said Mary Lyon, dean of professional studies at Mount Saint Vincent.

In addition to providing pre-service training, funded institutions also provide in-service training to early-childhood staff currently working in child care, early intervention, family home child care, family resource centres and related early- childhood fields.

The government of Canada has committed $2.2 billion to fund early-childhood development programs across the country over a five-year period that began in 2001. The funding is allocated to provinces and territories based on population. Each province or territory determines how its money will be distributed. Nova Scotia's portion is $66 million.