Premier John Horgan, Rachna Singh, Parliamentary Secretary for Anti-Racism Initiatives, and Jennifer Whiteside, Minister of Education, have released the following statement in celebration of Black Excellence Day:

Francophone elementary students, teachers and staff in Greater Victoria are now learning and working in a temporary modular school on the Braefoot Elementary site in Saanich.

A full return to school for students in kindergarten to Grade 12 will be delayed until Monday, Jan. 10, in order to give public health and B.C. schools additional time to adapt to the impacts of the Omicron variant on communities and schools, and to implement enhanced safety plans to support the continuation of in-class learning.  

A newly built extension to École Panorama Heights Elementary will get Coquitlam students out of portables and into more modern classrooms.

Some of B.C.’s youngest learners and their families will benefit from an expansion of the Seamless Day Kindergarten pilot program as it grows from four schools to 25.

In recognition of World Teachers’ Day, nominations are now open for the Premier’s Awards for Excellence in Education.

Children and their families throughout British Columbia will continue to benefit from local literacy programs with support from the annual Raise-a-Reader campaign Sept 17-24.