Child Day Supports Families and Young Learners

May 26, 2023

A free event hosted by the Langley School District and dozens of community partners drew hundreds of families to the Church in the Valley this week, all in the name of strengthening community connections.

Child Day featured District early learning staff hosting a “pop up” StrongStart program to give parents of pre-Kindergarten children a sneak peek at the program, which normally runs in a handful of elementary schools throughout the District. As well, booths from a number of community agencies were set up, including Langley Community Services Society, the Centre for Child Development, Inclusion Langley and many others.

“It’s an opportunity to bring the community together. That’s really important to us,” said Amanda Slade, Early Learning Coordinator at the school district.

“It’s a chance to connect with families, because sometimes we don’t know if they need our support, or the support of one of our community partners, so this is an opportunity for them to come and ask us questions, or discover a program they didn’t know existed.”

The goal of early learning programming, as well as events like Child Day, is to support young learners and families.

“We know the importance of early intervention, we know the importance of supporting families right from the beginning, so this is a great way to connect with them,” said Kim Anderson, District Principal for Early Learning.

Slade said she’s glad that the wider population is embracing the importance of pre-K learning and preparation for children under four years old, as evidenced by the impressive turnout at Child Day; nearly 400 adults and 300 children attended.

“Anyone in the early-years education field has always known how important it is, but now its getting more recognition, and everyone is starting to realize that early learning is key to child development, and the more we can do to support children and families, the better,” she said.

This year’s Child Day was the third hosted by the District – and the first in a few years – and Anderson said “this is as big as it’s been. It’s amazing.”

Engaging with community partners is also important to the District, Anderson said.

“It’s part of our strategic plan, building these community connections and strengthening our community partnerships. And we want to continue to strengthen our early-years programming for families and young children,” she said.

“We’re all just working together to support families, and it’s really cool to see all these different groups bridging the gaps; the school district can do certain things, and these other community groups can do certain things, and when we all work together we can really do a great job of supporting families in our community.

For more on the District’s early-learning programs, click here.