The Framework for Enhancing Student Learning’s Communities of Practice have been updated with offerings that align with areas for growth identified in the 2024 annual review. These learning communities are for senior leaders and their teams and will focus on continuing to build capacity through collaboration and self-reflection on topics including continuous improvement, alignment and ongoing engagement. Details are available on the Communities of Practice poster. Registration for Communities of Practice ends February 7, 2025, with sessions expected to begin late February/early March. Please email EDUC.Framework@gov.bc.ca if you have any questions.
Friday January 31, 2025
Deputy Minister of Education and Child Care
Good afternoon. As you’ll see below, this week’s Bulletin includes a number of invitations for you and your staff, including invitations to join one of the many Framework for Enhancing Student Learning Communities of Practice; to complete surveys on literacy supports and school foods programs; to take part in an online anti-racism networking session in early March; and to join us and some of our colleagues for online sessions on mental health and substance use, as well as strategies to protect kids against organized crime. And so much more below!
Wishing you a great weekend, as always.
Kaye
For Action
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K-12 Literacy Supports Survey Now Open for Educators and Education Assistants
As part of the provincial K-12 Literacy Supports initiative, the Ministry of Education and Child Care, in collaboration with BCcampus, is seeking input from K-12 teachers and educational support staff on online resource needs related to student literacy development, via a brief survey.
The ministry is requesting that school district superintendents and leads distribute this online survey to K-12 teachers and education assistants.
The survey will be open from January 31 to February 14, 2025. Please note that survey responses are anonymous and are not intended to assess educator competencies or determine broader programming related to literacy development.
Any questions or concerns regarding the content of the survey or the K-12 Literacy Supports initiative can be submitted to the Inclusive Education Team at literacy.supports@gov.bc.ca. For technical support regarding the survey, please contact support@bccampus.ca.
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Feeding Futures School Food Survey
Schools are asked to complete the School Food Survey to provide an update on the creation and expansion of school food programs through Feeding Futures funding. The survey collects information about the delivery of school food programs, including:
- Program type
- Approximate number of students accessing programs
- Approaches to identifying students who could benefit from school food programs
- Nutritional quality of meals provided
- Local food in school food programs
- Barriers to improving school food programs
The survey will take approximately 20 minutes to complete and will be open from January 31 – February 21. Please contact ECC.schoolfood@gov.bc.ca if you have any questions about the survey.
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Reminder: AED and Naloxone Availability Information Request
The Ministry of Education and Child Care is seeking to better understand the availability of Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) and Naloxone in BC K-12 public schools. This information is intended for the ministry to better understand what safety tools schools typically have on hand to respond to unexpected health emergencies.
A reminder that responses were due yesterday, January 30, 2025. If you haven’t already done so, please submit your response to ecc.strategicpriorities@gov.bc.ca as soon as possible using this table. -
Annual Lead in Water Reporting
School districts are required to test for lead content in drinking water in their school facilities to ensure the quality meets established guidelines. Please complete the 2024/25 Testing Lead Content in Drinking Water of School Facilities Report (in the Publications and resources section) then submit your report to the Capital Management Branch by February 28, 2025. Policy and sampling information is available on the Testing Lead Content in Drinking Water web page and the new Drinking Water Officers’ Guide provided by BC Health.
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Invitation to District Anti-Racism Leads
In collaboration with the Metro Anti-Racism Network, the ministry is hosting an online anti-racism networking session on March 6 from 9:30-11:30 PST for district anti-racism leads to discuss insights, challenges and impacts of on-going anti-racism change in schools. Two anti-racism leads from each district are invited to attend. Please distribute accordingly.
Please RSVP by completing this form by February 14.
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Cancellation of Teaching Certificates – Check Teacher Status
In line with Section 34 of the Teachers Act, employers are being notified that 18 teaching certificates were cancelled on January 13, 2025, for certificate holders who did not comply with criminal record check requirements. To ensure that the teachers employed at your schools remain certified, please check their status using the Certificate Verification Tool and review the cancellation notice available in the Employers’ Area. If you have any questions, please email the Teacher Regulation Branch at trb.employers@gov.bc.ca or call 236-455-1872.
For Information
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2024/25 Recalculated Funding Allocations
The Ministry of Education and Child Care has posted the 2024/25 recalculated operating grant and Classroom Enhancement Fund allocations, which are based on actual September 27, 2024, enrolment. Please contact Tim Jah, Director, Funding and Financial Accountability Branch, if you have any questions. Districts must prepare, adopt by bylaw and submit an Amended Annual Budget by March 28, 2025. Templates and instructions can be found on the School District Budget Reporting web page.
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First 1701 Data Collection Using EDX Starts February 7
The first Student Level Data (1701) collection using the new Education Data Exchange (EDX) will start February 7. Visit the EDX Info Hub for a final checklist to ensure your district and individual schools are prepared.
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Reminder: Renewal for the 2025/2026 Child Care Operating Funding, Child Care Fee Reduction Initiative and Early Childhood Educator Wage Enhancement
Together, Government and child care providers are reducing fees for families and sustaining child care services in communities throughout British Columbia. Child Care Operating Funding (CCOF) assists providers with the day-to-day costs of running a licensed child care facility.
Applications for the 2025/26 CCOF renewal are now open through My ChildCareBC Services. To ensure providers have time to plan, the 2025-26 CCFRI funding guidelines were shared ahead of time.
For 2025/26, fee increase limits remain at 3% of the regional median fee. These limits support families to access affordable child care. In addition to the 3% fee increase, providers are supported through base funding, fee reductions for families, provider payments and the Early Childhood Educator Wage Enhancement.
The CCOF program contact centre is open to provide support to child care providers from 8:30 am-4:30 pm PST, Monday to Friday, at 1 888 3386622 (Option 2).
$10 a Day ChildCareBC applicants: Child care providers who recently applied to the $10 a Day ChildCareBC program will be notified directly about the status of their application shortly. Successful applicants who accept a new $10 a Day ChildCareBC funding agreement will receive funding through the $10 a Day ChildCareBC program rather than the CCOF program.
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Substance Use Prevention, Part 2: Mental Health & Decision-Making Information Sessions
In partnership with adolescent clinical psychologist Dr. Hayley Watson from Open Parachute, the ministry will host three, free virtual sessions for parents, guardians and caregivers that will focus on practical skills you can teach your child and youth (ages 0-19) to prevent substance use and mental health challenges. These sessions will build on a previous presentation, which focused on practical conversation tools for speaking about substance use prevention with your children/youth. The previous session is not a pre-requisite for this one.
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Resources to Support Early Learning and Care
The Province of BC, through Perinatal Services BC and Child Health BC, is pleased to offer copies of Baby’s Best Chance and Toddler’s First Steps to StrongStart BC program staff. Early learning and child care leads will receive copies of 2024 editions of these resources for distribution to StrongStart BC contacts. Two copies of each book per program will be delivered to district offices for distribution.
Baby’s Best Chance is a resource that guides new parents and caregivers through pregnancy, childbirth and nurturing their baby’s healthy development up to 6 months of age. Toddler’s First Steps supports parents and caregivers in nurturing healthy childhood development from 6-36 months of age. These books, as well as translated copies in additional languages, are available online at HealthLinkBC. You can contact program manager Keren Massey-Slipp for more information.
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erase Organized Crime and Exploitation Prevention Information Series – Significance Quests and Resilience Building
As part of their erase Organized Crime and Exploitation Prevention Information Series, the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General (PSSG) is hosting a presentation on Wednesday, February 19, 2025, 10:30 am-12:00 pm PST about the practical applications of Significance Quest Theory and ways to build resilience in youth. Presenter Saed Abu‑Haltam, Manager of Collaborative Public Safety Programs at PSSG, oversees initiatives such as Situation Tables, Intervention Circles and Shift BC, the Province’s program for countering hate-motivated violence and violent extremism. Committed to fostering collaboration in public safety and service delivery, Saed also serves on the Board of Governors for Wraparound Canada.
Saed will explore the theoretical perspective of Significance Quest Theory and how it can be used as a lens to understand why youth may be drawn towards exploitative situations such as gang involvement or radicalization to violence. He will examine evidence-based and practical approaches to supporting youth that are at risk, with a focus on building resiliency. Additional time will be set aside for questions and discussion. If you have questions you would like to send in advance, please reach out by email to SOC.hub@gov.bc.ca.
Registration for this session is now open.
This is the tenth presentation in PSSG’s erase series.
