Deadline nearing for ECE sign-ups

As of Aug. 1, 142 children had been pre-registered for the province’s new pre-Primary program within the Chignecto-Central Regional School Board’s jurisdiction.

At that number, based on a 10to-1 ratio, at least 14 Early Childhood Educators (ECEs) will have to be hired before the program begins at the end of September. That gives school board officials approximately a month and a half to short-list the applicants, conduct interviews and complete the hiring process.

But school board spokesman Darcy MacRae says he doesn’t foresee any problems with that deadline.

“Plans remain in place for these centres to be ready to open in September. And we anticipate having the appropriate number of ECEs,” he said. “We plan to have these centres open and ready to go for the children and we think it will go pretty well.”

The application process for ECEs closes Aug. 15; applications for program managers will be accepted until Aug. 9.

One ECE is required for every 10 children registered in a given location. A second ECE is required for between 11 and 20 children.

The maximum size for a class is 24 children. In those cases where there are more than 20 and up to 24 children, the two ECEs would be joined by a third adult in the class.

“We are still early in the process of taking registration for the program and hiring the staff who will administer the program at our centres,” MacRae said.

The Liberal government announced its pre-Primary program in the spring budget after consultations with school board officials as a way to help transition children into an academic learning environment.

Zach Churchill, the minister of Education and Early Childhood Development said the reason the program is being offered now is because 75 per cent of the population doesn’t utilize or have access to private or non-profit childcare programs.

Starting in September, 50 classrooms at 43 sites across the province will be offering the pre-Primary program, which offers free enrolment for children aged four, as long as there is a nearby site with available space.

Within Colchester County, there are three sites – North River Elementary school, Bible Hill Central Elementary and Hilden Elementary.