StrongStart Surrey: Program will continue, district decides [Video]

An early education program that was at risk of being cancelled in Surrey will continue for the upcoming school year, the district announced earlier this week.

StrongStart was potentially going to be shut down in Surrey after already facing cutbacks due to limited provincial funding. But on Tuesday, Surrey Schools said it had found “a viable short-term solution” to continue offering the program at most of the sites in the district.

“We also recognize the importance of securing long-term funding for the StrongStart program,” a statement from the district said. “To this end, we will continue our work with the Ministry of Education and Child Care to advocate for sustainable, long-term funding solutions.”

Even so, two program locations will be cut due to “rising student enrolment” at Georges Vanier and James Ardiel elementary schools. The district explained classroom space will be repurposed for kindergarten to Grade 7 students at those …