A presentation to School District 27 (SD27) trustees was made at the Feb. 22 meeting by elementary counsellor Rana Grace, who demonstrated the merits of the Roots of Empathy program and asked for funding support.
Trustee Pete Penner says the training money has been cancelled by the Ministry of Education, but SD27 found funding from another source, making it the only school district that had this program component in the past year.
Trustees witnessed some examples of the success of the program, which brings a parent and baby into the classroom for educational benefits to young children regarding infant care, appropriate sibling behaviour and other aspects of life with babies.
"We had a video shown about how it works in the classroom and the reaction of kids, and it seems to be a really great program," says Penner.
The Roots of Empathy program involves a mom, or a dad, and his or her baby who regularly visit a classroom and sit in a circle with the young students who watch and learn about infant feeding, playtime, hygiene and general care activities.
"The video included a teacher talking about one child who felt kind of rejected by everybody, didn't like going to school and just didn't have any friends.
"When they all sat in the circle, the baby came directly to her and it just made such a fantastic difference to her that she was accepted by this little infant."
Trustees agreed to join several other school boards in the province that will write to the education minister to request funding for the program training be considered.
