Sing-a-long welcomes StrongStart; Belated grand opening held for Fruitvale children's centre
Trail Daily Times
March 12, 2008
By: Raymond Masleck

With a minimum of fuss and a flurry of songs, a new era in early childhood education was celebrated at Fruitvale Elementary School Tuesday.

The StrongStart centre at the school held a belated official opening, five months after the pilot program for preschoolers and their families opened. ….The skills children learn in the program will "carry them not only through their education but through their lives as well," said Mac Gregory, chair of the school board.

"I would urge the government to make funds available for the rest of the district and province."

Superintendent Jean Borsa said the "fun stuff" -- such as singing and reading together -- that children and parents do in the program "is so important in developing learners.

"It is great to see so many young children here. We are anxious to have them in our schools."

The Child Care Resource and Referral Centre in Trail received a $30,000 operating grant and $20,000 in start-up funding from the province to run the program in conjunction with the school district. It's open three hours a day from Monday to Friday.

…. has been set up in a surplus classroom at the school.

Education Minister Shirley Bond said …."I firmly believe these centres will result in improved literacy levels and higher student achievement. ... "It's (also) a wonderful opportunity for parents to learn along with their children, to meet other parents and caregivers and to discover new ways to support learning at home."…

Sue McIntosh, manager of the referral centre, said program usage has been "better than expected," at 15 to 20 children a day.

Although conceived for three and four year olds, StrongStart is attracting "more little ones, so it has been opened up all across the province.

"The youngest visitor we've had was one week old."…

The school is working on an "outreach" program aimed at attracting more young parents and others whose children would benefit. This effort is being aided by the fact the program is run by the referral centre, which has a lot of parent networks, he added.