Please be advised that the Early Learning Shared Cost Agreements for the 2023/24 school year were emailed to all school districts in late July 2024. The agreement covers funding allocations for the StrongStart BC and Ready, Set, Learn programs. It also covers funding for the Changing Results for Young Children, Strengthening Early Years to Kindergarten projects, and the District Early Learning and Child Care Leads. If you have not yet done so, please review your district’s agreement for accuracy and return a signed copy by email to EDUC.EarlyLearning@gov.bc.ca by August 28, 2024.
Friday August 23, 2024
Deputy Minister of Education and Child Care
Hi everyone,
I hope everyone had a safe return from an energizing couple of days in Whistler at the BC School Superintendents Association (BCSSA) Leadership Gathering. As we are all ramping up in the final couple of weeks before the start of the new school year, it is no surprise that we have a number of updates and reminders for you and your teams. These include reminders about shared cost agreements, school bus inventories, FESL reports, and information about a Feeding Futures Gathering and Student Learning Survey results. Please also see below a statement from Dr. Bonnie Henry, B.C.’s provincial health officer, ensuring students are up to date on all their routine vaccinations as a reminder for parents/caregivers.
Have a great weekend,
Christina Zacharuk
Deputy Minister of Education and Child Care
For Action
-
Invitation to Provincial Learning Management System Sessions — Register by September 30
School districts interested in onboarding to the provincial Learning Management System (D2L’s Brightspace) are invited to attend upcoming information sessions. On October 9, the ministry-led session will provide an overview of how to onboard to Brightspace (K–12). On October 17, the D2L-led session will provide training details and a Brightspace demonstration. To register, please have the school district’s representative(s) complete the Cohort 6 Interest Questionnaire by September 30. Please direct any questions to ecc.bc.lms@gov.bc.ca.
-
School Bus Inventory Report
School districts are required to provide the ministry with their annual school bus inventory update in MyCAPS by September 30. Please add details for newly acquired buses and include mileage updates and repair or maintenance information for existing buses. Please also identify the manufacturer, passenger count, and fuel type (e.g., electric, diesel) on any requests for replacement or new buses. To access the inventory instructions, please visit the Capital Planning website and click on the School Bus Inventory Instructions document under Publications and resources. Please notify the Capital Management Branch upon completion of the annual school bus inventory update by emailing CMB@gov.bc.ca. You may also email CMB@gov.bc.ca with any questions.
-
Deadline Reminder: Update Records for Scholarship Eligibility for 2023/24 Graduates
Provincial Scholarships Program awards for recent graduates (2023/24) will be processed in the coming weeks so that paper vouchers can be mailed to confirmed recipients this fall. To be confirmed, students must have completed all requirements, including graduation and coursework, by August 31, 2024. Those not on record as meeting requirements are ineligible for scholarships.
(more…) -
Save the Date: Feeding Futures Fall Gathering – October 24
Please save the date for the Feeding Futures Fall Gathering on October 24, 2024, at the Coast Coal Harbour Hotel in Vancouver. This event will bring School Food Coordinators from school districts across the province to network and share information on school food programs. Registration and additional event information will be shared in the coming weeks. Please contact ECC.schoolfood@gov.bc.ca if you have any questions.
-
2024 Framework Enhancing Student Learning Report
In alignment with the Ministerial Order, Enhancing Student Learning Reports must be submitted to the ministry annually between June 30 and September 30. In acknowledgement of Truth and Reconciliation Day on September 30, Report submissions for 2024 will be accepted until October 1. The ministry is also piloting a new online Report submission process to more efficiently collate information. For 2024, Reports can be submitted via the Enhancing Student Learning Report Submission Form accessed on the Enhancing Student Learning website or via email to EDUC.Framework@gov.bc.ca. For questions, please email EDUC.Framework@gov.bc.ca.
For Information
-
Student Vaccinations and Communicable Disease Guidelines
This week, B.C.’s Public Health Officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry, issued a statement to ensure children in B.C. are up to date on all their vaccines as part of back-to-school. In preparation, school staff are encouraged to review the Provincial Communicable Disease Guidelines for K-12 Settings. These guidelines are intended to reduce the risk of transmission of communicable disease in K-12 settings and are aligned with guidance from the BC Centre for Disease Control and Ministry of Health. More information about upcoming vaccine clinics can be found at Immunize BC.
-
2023/24 Student Learning Survey (SLS) Results
The results for the 2023/24 SLS are now available in the District SharePoint folders and Data BC Catalogue. The SharePoint folders contain both unmasked data files and printable summary reports (HTML) at district and school levels. The Data BC Catalogue contains masked data files at provincial and district levels. The SLS dashboard will be updated with the 2023/24 data in the fall. For any questions or issues in using the files and reports, please contact Educ.ReportingUnit@gov.bc.ca.
-
New Design Guidelines for Child Care Centres
On August 19, the Ministry of Education and Child Care published Design Guidelines for Child Care Centres as a resource to help organizations with child care space creation projects achieve a balance between consistent, quality and functional child care centre designs. These guidelines build on the health and safety standards in the Community Care and Assisted Living Act and the Child Care Licensing Regulation. Please note that the Act and Regulation continue to be the standards for child care licensing in B.C.
The design guidelines were informed through engagement with local governments, First Nations, Indigenous organizations, school districts, child care professionals and other interested groups. This resource is available for consideration but is not mandatory. Some new centres may not be able to meet elements of the guidelines due to the unique aspects of their project. Professionals are expected to rely on their professional judgement when applying the guidelines to child care projects. School districts with questions about capital concept development can contact their Regional Director and Planning Officer team.
-
Reminders for the 2024-25 Child Care Operating Funding Term
Child care providers who receive Child Care Operating Funding (CCOF) must report any changes to licence and service details since renewal, within two business days of the change. To help ensure accurate payments, wait for written confirmation that the change has been completed before submitting an enrolment report or a monthly Early Childhood Educator Wage Enhancement (ECE-WE) report.
(more…) -
Discipline Outcomes
Discipline outcomes are posted to enhance the transparency of the processes and decisions made with respect to complaints and reports about educators. Recently, an outcome was posted about a teacher whose certificate was suspended for three days, and another outcome was posted about a teacher who agreed to a reprimand. The outcomes have been anonymized to protect the identity of students who were harmed, abused, or exploited by the teacher.
