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The Atkinson Centre promotes research on child development, and the development of early learning policy and practice that serve young children and their families.

CBC is celebrating 26 Canadian authors this #PrideMonth. Among them is OISE alum and U of T professor Rinaldo Walcott.

OISE professor, Ardavan Eizadirad, explores systemic inequities that serve as barriers impacting student achievement in his latest article.

Professors Chloe Hamza, Elizabeth Buckner and Eve Tuck are among 20 new and renewed appointments for Canada Research Chairs (CRC) at the University of Toronto.

The Atkinson Centre promotes research on child development, and the development of early learning policy and practice that serve young children and their families.

The Progress Pride flag flies over Varsity Stadium on the St. George campus to mark the start of Pride Month. Flags were also raised at U of T Mississauga and U of T Scarborough.

Excerpt: "Today, Karina Gould, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, joined Becky Druhan, Nova Scotia’s Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development, at East Preston Day Care to announce that 1,500 new licensed child care spaces will be created across Nova Scotia by December 31, 2022. The focus will be on creating spaces in areas of the province with limited access to child care services. The ministers also noted that, as of January 1, families in Nova Scotia with children in licensed child care are benefiting from a 25% reduction in fees, and that they will receive an additional 25% reduction by the end of 2022."

Excerpt: "Ontario values the important role of child care and early years professionals. Since 2015, Ontario has supported recruitment and retention of RECEs in child care through the Ontario Wage Enhancement Grant. In 2021, Ontario invested $203 million to help attract and retain RECEs within Ontario's child care system and support access to stable, high quality child care programs."

Excerpt: "Under the new program, the Government of Yukon provides licensed operators with $700 per month for each child in full-time child care, which must be fully and immediately applied to reduce the monthly payments made by parents (this is pro-rated for children in part-time child care). The new program also includes fee increase limits to ensure that fees charged to parents remain both sustainable and affordable and in line with rates charged by other local providers delivering the same type of child care. Under Yukon’s universal child care program, average parent fees are now less than $10 per day, among the lowest in Canada."

Excerpt: "BC will allocate funds through its existing contract to support students for 3 to 4 academic years (fiscal year 2021 to 2022 through fiscal year 2023 to 2024 or fiscal year 2024 to 2025) and will ensure collaboration with Indigenous partners and rights holders on approaches to funding specific to Indigenous students. Students will continue to be able to apply for the student bursary stream at $500 per course (maximum of 8 courses per semester) to assist with tuition and living costs. Individuals actively working in child care who wish to upgrade their credentials will be able to continue to apply for the workforce bursary stream of up to $5,000 per semester to assist with tuition and other expenses such as loss of wages or travel. Amounts for the Indigenous bursary stream will be determined in consultation with Indigenous partners. Students can apply for bursaries for each semester they are taking courses, so one student can potentially receive multiple bursaries. BC commits to continuing to report out on outcomes for as long as the program is available through this funding."

OISE doctoral candidate and enigmatologist, Stacy Costa says puzzles can help improve your mind but you have to challenge yourself.

Excerpt: "Challenges related to training, recruitment and retention of qualified ELCC staff is seen across Nunavut. Very few ELCC educators have any type of formal early childhood educators (ECE) training which reduces the desire to work within the field. Many centres hire staff who are willing to work for low wages, but due to lack of training and competitive wages, many chose to leave the field within a short time. This creates a revolving door of ELCC educators which decreases the ability to keep centres open to full capacity and provide high quality childcare. Competitive wages are needed to recruit and retain interested people to work within the ELCC sector. Enhanced training and understanding of children’s needs, programming and day to day operations of a high-quality childcare system is also highly needed. Providing specialized training to support the growth of understanding and services provided to children and competitive wages is key to the growth and stability of ELCC in Nunavut."