The University of the Fraser Valley has partnered with the Stó:lō Nation to let high school students in a dual-credit early childhood education course experience what working in an early childhood education (ECE) setting is like. A:lmélháwtxw Early Education Centre childcare supervisor Monique Belanger came to the class to answer questions and help students learn about a career in ECE. Students also learned more about the role, philosophies, and emergent curriculum by visiting the A:lmélháwtxw Early Education Centre to observe staff members working and attending a panel discussion in which A:lmélháwtxw staff discussed caring for children. “Our students were also impressed by the strong connection the daycare’s staff, families and children have to the land,” said dual credit class teacher Elizabeth McWilliams Hewitt. “They spend a lot of time outdoors and whether it’s taking a walk in the forest, climbing a tree, or finding a nice spot outside to have a quiet moment, that connection is there.”
