As summer break approaches, Minister Singh would like to thank everyone in the education system for their extraordinary efforts and accomplishments during the 2023/24 school year. Please ask your principals to share this letter from the Minister to students, parents, and caregivers and this letter to K-12 school and district staff.
Friday June 21, 2024
Deputy Minister of Education and Child Care
Hi, everyone.
As I write this, I am wrapping up a visit with Minister Singh in the Nisga’a School District (92) and it’s a fantastic way to (almost) end the school year. The highlight (and there were many) was primary year students practising their numeracy skills, in their traditional Nisga’a, to guess ADM Jennifer McCrea’s age. : -) The kids are grounded, the culture is strong, and the foundations are there for wherever they would like life to take them (including our Grade 11 museum tour guide, who is focused on an archaeology degree at UBC).
Please find below several updates, including end of school year messaging from Minister Singh, information on an optional webinar for your Early Learning Child Care (ELCC) leads to introduce the Inclusive Child Care strategy, and year-end reminders regarding grants and reporting.
Have a great weekend,
Christina Zacharuk
Deputy Minister of Education and Child Care
For Action
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B.C. Training and Education Savings Program Grant
Prior to summer break, please share this letter with families/guardians of students in Kindergarten through Grade 3 to let them know their child may be eligible for a one-time $1,200 B.C. Training and Education Savings Grant for their post-secondary education.
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TRAX Submission of June/Final School Marks – Due July 12
Schools are reminded to submit June/final course marks to TRAX by July 12 to ensure students’ transcripts are up to date for their graduation and post-secondary institution selections.
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BC Tripartite Education Agreement Learning Series: Joint Verification Process Webinars and Q&A Sessions – Save the Date
Indigenous Services Canada (ISC), the First Nations Education Steering Committee (FNESC), and the Ministry of Education and Child Care invite you to mark your calendars for this year’s Nominal Roll Learning Series webinars and Q&A sessions covering the Joint Verification Process (JVP).
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Power BI Access for Online Learning Survey
Online Learning Survey results will be available to all districts with a Provincial Online Learning School and/or a District Online Learning School through a Power BI dashboard in September 2024. Superintendents are requested to provide their Online Learning School Principal contacts by August 31, 2024, for access to the dashboard. Contacts will have access to district-level data in the ministry’s standard Power BI products, accessible through the K-12 Data Portal.
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Register for Learning to be Anti-Racist: An Introductory Course
The Ministry of Education and Child Care has launched Learning to be Anti-Racist: An Introductory Course. Part of the K-12 Anti-Racism Action Plan, this free online course is available for all district and school employees and includes seven training modules designed to support and strengthen anti-racism learning environments across schools in B.C.
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Reminder: Community Gaming Grants
Please remind your school’s Parent Advisory Council (PAC) that funding is available through the Community Gaming Grant program at the Ministry of Municipal Affairs.
Applications are accepted each year, between April 1 – June 30, with funding awarded in the Fall. Late applications are unlikely to be funded. Funding amounts are based on school enrolment numbers at a rate of $20 per student. Schools with fewer than 100 students will be provided with a base rate of $2,000.
Funds may only be used for extracurricular activities such as grad ceremonies, grad memorabilia, club and sports team uniforms, field trips, PAC spirit or community events, books and games for non-instructional times, and much more. Details on program criteria, how to apply, using funds and reporting requirements may be found in the 2024 PAC & DPAC Program Guidelines located on the Community Gaming Grants website.
For Information
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Launch of B.C. Inclusive Child Care Strategy and Report
The ministry will be holding an optional call for Early Learning and Child Care Leads and Child Care Resource and Referral Centres on Wednesday, June 26, from 1:15 pm-2:00 pm PT to provide information and answer questions ahead of the release of B.C.’s Inclusive Child Care Strategy and Engagement Report. The strategy describes the foundation for a future state where every child has access to child care, including children from diverse backgrounds and those with support needs. Links to the Inclusive Child Care Strategy and Report will be shared in a future edition of the Deputy Minister’s Bulletin.
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2024 Enhancing Student Learning Report Update
An additional update has been made to the Section A: Pre-Populated Data Template to provide current graphs for post-secondary institution (PSI) transition data, which were not available at the time of template creation. These updates bring the template into alignment with the data available on the BC K-12 Education Data Portal, which districts should refer to for planning and analysis before completing the report.
The updated Section A: Pre-Populated Data Template, which should be used for public reporting, can be found in the secure SharePoint site in the following location:
Home Page > District Documents > Standard_Reports > Framework_for_Enhancing_Student_Learning.
Please see the Framework website for new information about using data to complete the 2024 Enhancing Student Learning Report.
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Summer Reporting and TRAX Data Submission
A new TRAX Data Submission Guide for Summer School Marks is available on the TRAX Information website. The Summer School Marks reporting process is applicable from the end of July through September for students who are not returning in the fall (e.g., graduating students).
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Reporting Guides for Adult Education, Online Learning and Inclusive Education
Three new reporting guides for Online Learning, Adult Education, and Inclusive Education are now available on the K-12 Student Reporting Policy Information for Educators and School Leaders web page. These comprehensive guides outline specific reporting parameters for each of these student populations and provide answers to frequently asked questions.
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Reminder: 2025-26 School District Child Care Capital Project Requests
A reminder that school districts can submit their 2025-26 child care capital project requests using the Capital Asset Planning System (MyCAPS). Major capital child care project requests must be submitted by June 30, and minor capital child care project requests must be submitted by September 29. These deadlines are unique to school district project submissions. Any dates referred to in relation to the ChildCareBC New Spaces Fund project intake no longer apply to school districts. For more information on the project submission process, please refer to the Capital Plan Instructions or contact the Regional Director and Planning Officer team responsible for child care.
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New Suicide and Self-harm Prevention Resources for Educators
The Ministry of Children and Family Development has new suicide and self-harm prevention resources available for educators. These resources aim to reduce stigma, increase mental health literacy, and build capacity to support students who are experiencing suicidal and self-harm behaviours.
For more information and to access these new resources, please visit the HealthyMindsBC website and click on the “Are you a B.C. Educator?” box.
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Learning in the Primary Years Downloadable Resource Now Available
The Ministry of Education and Child Care has revised the Primary Program Framework first published in 2000. Now called Learning in the Primary Years, the updated resource supports learning in Kindergarten through Grade 3 and reflects pedagogy inclusive of Indigenous worldviews, as well as the current B.C. context. The new resource supports holistic learning and builds on concepts in the B.C. Early Learning Framework. This resource is free to download from the Learning in the Primary Years web page and copies will be made available for purchase through Crown Publications soon.
