As part of WelcomeBC (the provincial immigration initiative) the Minister Responsible for Multiculturalism, the Honourable Wally Oppal, announced last week funding for a literacy program for immigrant families with young children.
The Immigrant Parents As Literacy Supporters (Immigrant PALS) program is targeted to parents and preschool children who have been in Canada for at least 3 years. Immigrant PALS will be piloted in 7 neighbourhood schools in North Vancouver, Abbotsford, Burnaby, Langley and Surrey BC.
Programs will be tailored to specific languages, including Farsi, Karen, Mandarin, Punjabi and Vietnamese. Programs will run for 3 years and accommodate 25 families in 10 workshops a year.
From the press release:
“The language and literacy abilities of refugee and immigrant families impact every area of their lives, said Oppal. This program is another creative approach that WelcomeBC is taking to ensure the successful adaptation and integration of newcomers and their families to British Columbia”.
Immigrant PALS complements the province’s ReadNow BC and the StrongStart BC early learning programs. Visit this site to learn more.
