Funding Gap Forces Peel to Scale Back Full-Day Kindergarten Roll-out
Source: Globe & Mail, November 24, 2010

Excerpt: "The Peel District School Board has decided to roll back the number of sites that will begin offering full-day kindergarten next fall and is calling on Ontario's Ministry of Education to provide more funding for its Early Learning Program. Trustees reviewed a report that calculated the funding gap for the first year of the full-day program, which was implemented this fall, at approximately $1.3-million. The key reason cited for the shortfall was higher-than-projected enrolment that required that 10 additional full-day classes be opened."

Applauding PEI's Work in Educating our Children (by Charles Pascal)
Source: The Guardian (PEI), November 23, 2010

Excerpt: "P.E.I.'s approach reinforces the need to ensure that the quality of the pedagogy is job one, that those who work with young children need to be well versed in early child development and supported well. The in-service training provided to all those involved in the school and the commitment to high quality pre-service education will be key to enabling the social, emotional and cognitive gains that excellent learning programs can provide."

Report: Subsidize Early Care, Education
Source: Chronicle-Herald (Nova Scotia), November 22, 2010

Excerpt: "A new paper released by the Atlantic Institute for Market Studies says government should be spending money on early childhood education and care programs, but the emphasis should be on subsidizing the cost for poorer families and vulnerable children."

Bilingual Daycares? No Thanks
Source: Telegraph-Journal (New Brunswick), November 20, 2010

Excerpt: "Rodrigue Landry, a distinguished and internationally renowned Acadian researcher in the field of linguistic minorities, is probably the greatest promoter of the importance of identity building in early childhood. The realm of early childhood escaped the dualistic responsibility of the Acadian community. Starting in early childhood, a community like ours continues to grow or crumbles."

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November 20th: National Child Day!
Source: Child Care Advocacy Association of Canada, November 19, 2010

Excerpt: "Last year's (2009) national report card shows that two decades after the House of Commons' unanimous resolution "to seek to achieve the goal of eliminating poverty among Canadian children by the year 2000," Canada has far to go to prevent and reduce poverty."

Saskatchewan Invests $885,000 in 18 New Kindergarten Programs
Source: Government of Saskatchewan, November 19, 2010

Excerpt: "Today at St. Francis Community School in Regina, Education Minister Donna Harper announced the Government of Saskatchewan is providing $885,000 to nine school divisions to implement 18 new Prekindergarten programs in ten communities across the province."

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Shannen's Dream Campaign for First Nations Education Rights
Source: First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada, November 16, 2010

Excerpt: “Shannen had never seen a real school. Children in Attawapiskat were being educated in rundown standalone portable trailers set on a toxic brownfield and next to an active airstrip. Shannen was only 13 years old when she led a group of students from her isolated James Bay community to Ottawa to ask the federal government why they had broken promise after promise to build the children a proper school.”

New Pre-Kindergarten Programs Open Across Saskatchewan
Source: Leader-Post, November 15, 2010

Excerpt: “As 18 new pre-kindergarten programs open across Saskatchewan this school year, the provincial government hopes to eventually see several more such classes established…. With the 18 new pre-K classes — 15 of which started in September and three more which begin in January — there are 230 programs in Saskatchewan, serving approximately 3,700 children...”

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Cameron Keeps His Word on 'Sharp-Elbowed' Middle-Classes: Better-Off Parents Face Bill for 'Free' Childcare Programme
Source: Daily Mail (UK), November 15, 2010

Excerpt: “Middle-class parents face being charged to use their local Sure Start centres amid claims they are hijacking resources meant for the disadvantaged. Ministers are to write to councils urging them to charge for services they currently offer free such as play sessions for toddlers. Children’s Minister Sarah Teather insisted the flagship childcare programme would remain open to all. But she said there was ‘no reason’ why operators should not charge wealthier parents for some activities."

13.000 Daycare Workers Protesting Throughout Quebec
Source: Montreal Examiner, November 10, 2010

Excerpt: “On November 10th, 2010, 13.000 home-based daycare workers throughout Quebec ceased their activity, part of a one day protest aiming to raise awareness and hasten negotiations with the Quebec government, affecting service to more than 90.000 children across the province.”

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Report Cards on Child/Family Poverty
Source: Campaign 2000, November 24, 2010

Excerpt: "In 2010, Canada still lacks a national approach to ECEC and regularly fails to meet international benchmarks for best policy practice. There are still only enough regulated child care spaces to cover about 20% of children aged 0-5 years and - based on the available research - the quality is too often less than optimal. While just about all five year olds have access to publicly-funded kindergarten, these programs don't meet working/studying parents' schedules and only one province (Ontario) offers
kindergarten to most four year olds."

Note: Provincial report cards for British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Saskatchewan are also available.

Report: Federal Poverty Reduction Plan: Working in Partnerships Towards Reducing Poverty in Canada
Source: Government of Canada, November, 2010

Excerpts: "Living on low income can have detrimental consequences in a variety of aspects of children's lives. Witnesses told the Committee that poverty hinders children's development, decreases their health and educational outcomes, and limits their ability to fully participate in society. Children living in low-income families are also more likely to live on a low income as adults, thus perpetuating a cycle of poverty."

"The Committee also heard extensively about the importance of child care, also known as early childhood education and care (ECEC) as a means of reducing poverty. Not only do high-quality early education and child care programs contribute to children's future well-being by fostering healthy development, but they also give parents and family members the freedom to pursue educational and work opportunities, as well as to engage in other aspects of civic life. Conversely, a lack of access to affordable child care can be a significant obstacle to acquiring training, entering the labour market and escaping low income. Child care services are particularly important for groups at risk of poverty such as women and new immigrants, who face a variety of challenges in entering the labour market and are more likely to live on low incomes."

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New Encyclopedia on ECD Article by Dr. Clyde Hertzman
Source: Encyclopedia on Early Childhood Development, November 1, 2010

Excerpt: "The Total Environment Assessment Model of Early Child Development was developed for the World Health Organization's Commission on the Social Determinants of Health to highlight the environments and experiences that influence ECD. TEAM-ECD builds on the bio-ecological model, developmental psychology, the concept of biological embedding, the social determinants of health, research regarding social relations in human society, and political economy. It features interacting and interdependent spheres of influence that are instrumental for ECD: the individual, family and dwelling, residential and relational communities, programs and services, regional, national and global environments, and civil society." 

Lecture - Resilience in Children and Youth: Transforming Science and Practice
Source: Child Psychotherapies and Development, Hospital for Sick Children

Description: On December 2nd, Dr. Ann S. Masten, Distinguished McKnight University Professor (Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota) will discuss the implications of four decades of international research on resilience to conceptualize best practices and the influence of policy and policy changes on child health and development.

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