Aurora college seeks to supplement expired funding for child care program
By Yumna Iftikhar
Aurora College is still working to replace the expired federal funding for its early learning and child care (ELCC) program which would allow the school to reopen admissions to the program, says interim president Nora Houlahan.
“The annual intake is something we would love to continue and we are looking at ways of supplementing that sunsetted funding,” she said.
Last November, the college delayed admissions for the ELCC program, eventually opening them this past February.
At the time, officials said the delay was due to expired funding from a pilot program through the Department of Education, Culture and Employment. The program provided the college $800,000 in federal funding to support workforce development.
Houlahan said before the federal funding came in, the college operated on a cohort model. Students would complete the two-year program together. When that class graduated, the school would enroll the next group of students.
The federal funding allowed the program to change to annual intake.
Need for ELCC programs in communities
Yvette Cooper, the co-chair of the N.W.T. Early Childhood Association, said ELCC education remains inaccessible for many in smaller communities where the need for educators is higher.
She said the college needs to do more to bring education and training directly to those communities.
“[Aurora College does] not offer the program fulsomely enough that someone can get educated in their community and then stay in their community and have that education benefit their community.”
The ELCC program head Janine Rommel acknowledged the shortages of licensed educators in many communities but said Aurora College has taken steps to reach these communities.
She added the college is offering distance learning and beefing up recruitment efforts, including presentations to local schools.
“If you are in a small community and you are working at a child care centre already and you don’t have formal education, having you leave your community and moving to the city, or Yellowknife, or somewhere else, will really leave your community in jeopardy of not being able to continue having childcare opportunities,” she said.
Related stories from around the North:
Canada: Aurora College research team wants to change the way the North looks at food security, CBC News
Finland: One in 10 Finnish families with young children dealing with food insecurity: survey, Yle News
United States: New farm bill program aims to fight food insecurity in Alaska, Alaska Public Media
