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Have Van Will Travel

Five days a week two vans, heavily loaded with educational materials, parenting resources, student teachers, and their supervisors head down the road to Taber, Picture Butte, Coaldale, Coalhurst, Nobleford, and Fort Macleod bringing educational opportunities to preschoolers and their parents in these rural areas.

For the past 14 years the Parent Preschool Program of Southwestern Alberta [PPP] has undertaken these valuable weekly visits. Over that time interest in the program has blossomed from three sessions a week to 14 sessions a week in seven communities, including Lethbridge. "The growth in the program indicates an obvious need for these educational opportunities," said Carrie Ruston, Parent Preschool Program Chairperson.

The program has several emphases. "We provide learning opportunities based on play philosophy for children aged 16 months to five years; supervised hands on experience for Early Childhood Education students from the Lethbridge Community College; and a support program for parents of young children," she said. While the Early Childhood Education students work with the preschoolers, parents are involved in discussions or listen to guest speakers.

Because the program travels to the participants in rural areas, the vans are essential to the success of the program. "We bring everything we need with us," said Anita Cooper, an early childhood education instructor with the Lethbridge Community College. However, the thousands of kilometers and numerous years have taken their toll on the old vehicles, both of which breathed their last this year. In the past, the College has supported the program by providing a van, but they can no longer provide that service.

However, the Lethbridge Community Foundation has stepped in to keep the Parent Preschool Program on the road by providing a grant for the purchase of a new van. In addition, because of the Foundation's support, the PPP has been able to find another donor willing to provide a second van for the program.

"The Foundation grant was a lifesaver. We really couldn't have continued serving the more than 150 children enrolled in the program without this support," admitted Carrie Ruston.