Happy Early Childhood Educator Appreciation Day!

As the new Chair of the Board for Schoolhouse Playcare Centres of Durham (SPC) and, on behalf of the Board, we feel very privileged to be given this incredible responsibility. We are grateful in the trust and confidence that the entire SPC family has given us. 

I wanted to take a moment to recognize all the AMAZING early childhood educators on this very important day of appreciation.  However, this is not about only recognizing these extraordinary heroes on this one day but recognizing how they significantly contribute to making our society and communities great - every day.

I think we can all agree that positive, nurturing, and supportive care for children is more important than ever.  Many of us through the pandemic (including myself) have experienced what it is like to work without childcare and the impact that has had on our families.  Childcare and early childhood education continues to play a big role in recovery and the stability needed to not only return to pre-pandemic life but also to learn from the pandemic and create a better and more resilient support network.

We know that investment in early childhood education and childcare have significant economic and societal advantages.  Based on a recent Deloitte report, these include:

1. Benefits to Children - positive outcomes in behaviour, social skills, mental and physical health
2. Increase in labour force participation of women
3. Benefits to parents - we all know what those are (e.g., reducing parental stress)
4. Promotion of equality - there is evidence that investment in childcare benefits lower income Canadians and can help with income inequality

As such we need to continue to bring awareness to the importance of our early childhood educators and advocate for continued investment to ensure increased access.

At SPC we are focused on accelerating our growth strategy while continuing to build on the strength of our service without compromising the quality of our programs, standards, and compliance. I can assure you that as a Board we will be working in collaborative partnerships with the SPC team, families, the Ministry of Education, Durham Region, and all partners.

I am incredibly grateful to be associated with Schoolhouse Playcare Centres of Durham and excited about the future. The passion and commitment that the SPC team has for our children is truly exceptional and on behalf of the families of Durham, please join me in extending a huge THANK-YOU to our childcare professionals!!!