An early childhood education program in Surrey has been given another lifeline to continue for at least one more year.
While it's being saved for now, the continuation of the program does not come without a cost. The number of schools with StrongStart will increase next year, but the length of the service at some schools will be reduced and staff will be cut, according to a release from Surrey Schools.
StrongStart is a pre-kindergarten program for children to attend with a parent of guardian. Originally designed as a free, drop-in service for families looking for an opportunity to connect their children with their peers, get an introduction into the education system and link with resources, StrongStart has undergone some changes in the last few years.
Funding for the program in Surrey has not increased since 2008, the school board has stated, making its future untenable.
After much pushback, StrongStart was able to stay this school year but at a reduced rate. Instead of being at the original 25 school sites, it was reduced to 21 this year, and families have to sign up instead of dropping in. Also due to demand, families' access to StrongStart dropped from five days a week to sometimes two or three to give room to everyone who needed it.
“The board of education faced many difficult decisions this year due to the $16-million shortfall Surrey Schools is facing in the 2025/26 school year,” said Gary Tymoschuk, chair of the school board.
“As the board confronted the possibility of changes to the StrongStart program, we asked our team at the district to look for ways to keep the program running in as many schools as possible.”
That plan has been released by the district now. StrongStart will continue at 23 sites, and some of them being 2.5 hours in length rather than the original three. Staff cuts are also on the horizon, as the current 19 early child-care educators will be reduced to 11.
Staff members who are cut will be given an opportunity to be trained for a different position in the district, the release adds.
“It is a true testament to the hard work of our outstanding staff that we were able to redesign StrongStart to serve as many communities as possible, without any additional dollars,” Tymoschuk said.
“We recognize the impact this will have on staff, and we are working with them to prepare them for career opportunities within the district.”
There are nine schools that will be unaffected in terms of duration, those being Bear Creek, Lena Shaw, Holly, Westerman, Betty Huff, Newton, Senator Reid, W.E. Kinvig and M.B. Sanford elementaries.
Seven schools will see StrongStart only operate three days a week, which include Bonnacord, Cindrich, Cougar Creek, Cedar Hills, Hjorth Road, Jessie Lee, and Old Yale elementaries. And finally, seven more schools will only see the program offered for two days a week: Bridgeview, Forsyth, George Greenaway, Martha Currie, Mary Jane Shannon, Panorama Park and Strawberry Hill elementaries.
Surrey Schools says many factors were taken into consideration to analyze how best to make these changes. Weighing program enrolment, space availability, population trends, school catchments and using the University of British Columbia's Human Early Learning Partnerships' tool, the Early Development Instrument, the district decided to maintain the program in its entirety at the schools where there was the greatest need, the district states.
