Early Childhood Education

To help create more $10-a-day early childhood education spaces, the party promised to:

• Establish a permanent advisory panel of early childhood education operators and care providers. We will take advice and listen to early childhood educators and operators. We will reduce the burden of paperwork they face.

• Provide space for early childhood education in new school builds.

• Work with communities, and the public and private sectors, to create early childhood education spaces in all regions of the province.

• Support Early Childhood Educators by promoting access to pension plans and paid sick leave.

Kindergarten to Grade 12

• Conduct a needs assessment of K–12 schools and maintenance requirements. Based on clearly defined criteria—including overcrowding, structural condition, age, and projected community growth—we will implement a plan to replace schools. Priority will be given to schools in serious disrepair, such as Frank Roberts Junior High.

• Expand school meals for K–12 students. Kids can’t learn when they’re hungry—yet nearly 40% of children in our province live in food-insecure households.

• Strengthen the basics in education. We will focus on reading, writing, math, science, and computer skills—while also supporting creativity and well-being. The curriculum will better prepare students to meet national and global standards.

• Hire and retain more teachers. We will work with the NLTA to improve working conditions, reduce class sizes, tackle school violence, and increase mental health and classroom support. We will stop splitting teaching positions beyond half-time and ensure full-time roles where needed. To hire more teachers, we will train more teachers locally.

• Review the school transportation system to see if improvements can be made to consider the needs of families.

• Improve students’ access to school psychologists and social workers to support youth both inside and outside the classroom. These professionals must be available to students year- round; support should not stop in June.

• Treat Student Assistants and Teaching Assistants with respect. We will fix the policy which hires these essential classroom supports too late in the school year; we will stop the practice of laying them off over the Christmas and Summer breaks.

• Provide Student Assistants to students who need them. Too many students in our province have had their much needed support taken away from them this school year. We will work with students, families, and schools to help every child have a path to success.

• Support early assessment and intervention. We will provide tools and resources to identify and support students with physical, developmental, or learning challenges early in their education. We will strengthen inclusive education with individualized support and small-group instruction to help every student succeed.

• Expand skilled trades programs with a high school pre-apprenticeship program. High school students will be given the opportunity to explore and prepare for careers in the skilled trades.

Post-Secondary (College & University)

• Require Memorial University to be fiscally responsible with the funding it receives. We will not allow MUN to balance its books on the backs of students. We will not allow MUN to expand its footprint or increase tuition until it ends administrative bloat, resolves outstanding critical maintenance, and returns its focus to students.

• Immediately launch a review of tuition and fees at Memorial University and the College of the North Atlantic, including the provincial student loans and grant programs.

• Break down barriers to education by ensuring post-secondary programming is available to students of all regions of the province in a manner that is cost effective. This will be done utilizing distance education and by matching the offerings of the College of the North Atlantic with labour market needs in the regions.

• Align new post-secondary offerings with future labour market needs We will forecast future labour shortages and adjust class sizes in advance of these shortages to respond more expeditiously to changing labour market needs.