Image: Mike Vanden Bosch / Pattison Media / The provincial government announced Thursday (Sept. 5) that more than 130 new child care spaces will be coming to four schools in SD33 just in time for the new 2024-25 school year.

By Mike Vanden Bosch

More child care spaces in SD33

More child care spaces coming to four Chilliwack School District sites

Sep 5, 2024 | 11:31 AM

CHILLIWACK — The provincial government announced Thursday (Sept. 5) that more than 130 new child care spaces will be coming to four schools in SD33 just in time for the new 2024-25 school year.

In a news release, the B.C. government says Chilliwack School District (SD33) will benefit from 102 new before- and after-school child care spaces at three specific school sites. The new spaces are being funded with $720,000 from the Ministry of Education and Child Care over two years for a new initiative, which uses existing school space, as well as school district resources and staff, to provide before- and after-school care without additional pickups and drop-offs.

“We’re continuing to create new child care spaces and find new ways to deliver the spaces that families need most,” said Dan Coulter, MLA for Chilliwack. “Child care on school grounds makes life easier for families by providing one convenient location for busy parents. By reducing drop-off and pickup locations, families are spending less time in traffic and more time on the things that matter most.”

The new child care spaces at Greendale, Sardis and Unsworth elementary schools will utilize existing, shared spaces in the schools. The district also stands to benefit from more than $202,000 through the ChildCareBC New Spaces Fund to transform the school spaces into accessible, licensed child care spaces.

The new program will be evaluated with the goal of expanding it to other districts, helping more families in the province.

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In addition to the new school-age child care, the district is welcoming more than $206,000 through the New Spaces Fund to create 32 new child care spaces at Cultus Lake Community School, including 16 spaces for children 30 months to kindergarten age and 16 additional school-age spaces. This funding is supported by provincial investments and federal funding under the 2021-22 to 2025-26 Canada-British Columbia Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement.

With the new facilities, families benefit from affordable child care fees through the province’s fee-reduction program, which reduces the cost of child care.

“I am so grateful that the district has started before- and after-school care for my daughter at Vedder Elementary,” said Leanna Mitchell, a Chilliwack parent. “I’m a single parent, and without it, I would be unable to work. There are such long wait lists at every daycare with school pickup that I’m not sure what I would have done without this program.”