Research Focuses on Children's Learning

What is Understanding the Early Years?

Understanding the Early Years is a community
research initiative that focuses on children’s learning. The project involves children , teachers, parents, guardians and community agencies.
It will help the communities in the northeast understand how their children are doing and how to best respond to their needs.
Understanding the Early Years looks at the whole picture: how neighborhoods, children’s programs and services, families, schools and child care facilities influence early childhood development.

Language Linked to Successful Reading

How does Understanding the Early Years work?

Quality data is collected from multiple sources.
The Early Development Instrument is a teacher questionnaire that assesses how ready children are to learn as they enter school.
The Parent Interviews and Direct Assessments of Children Survey will generate information on children’s development form the parent’s viewpoint and direct assessments of children will provide information on the abilities and skills of the children.
Mapping of Community Resources will show where the children in a community live in relation to where the programs and services supporting them and their families can be found.

Families are most important influences

Why is Understanding the Early Years so important?

Research tells us about the importance of brain development in the early years.
We need to answer the question “How are our children doing now?” before we will know how to help them do better in the future.
Understanding the Early Years is providing answers to this question so that communities and governments can develop the policies, programs and services that best promote the well being of our children.

For more information on the Government of Canada’s Understanding the Early Years Initiative visit: http://www.hrsdc.gc.ca/en/hip/sd/300_UEYInfo.shtml

The Saskatchewan Learning map of the Provincial and Seperate School Divisions to the left shows the location of the North East School Division.

The area enlarged above shows the communities with elementary schools in North East School Division. Red Earth First Nation, Shoal Lake Cree Nation and Kinistin Saulteaux Nation are also located in this geographic region.

The participating communities in the North East Understanding the Early Years project are located in northeastern Saskatchewan. Our boundaries extend to the Manitoba border in the east, Smeaton and Melfort in the west, Red Earth First Nation in the north and Naicam in the south.
The Saskatchewan Learning map of the Provincial and Seperate School Divisions to the left shows the location of the North East School Division.
The area enlarged above shows the communities with elementary schools in North East School Division. Red Earth First Nation, Shoal Lake Cree Nation and Kinistin Saulteaux Nation are also located in this geographic region.

And now a word from our sponsor . . .

North East Understanding the Early Years is sponsored by the Northeast Regional Intersectoral Committee (RIC) with funding through the Government of Canada's Understanding the Early Years Initiative. The following individuals, representing the North East Understanding the Early Years Management Committee, oversees the project:

Julie Cleaveley, Kelsey Trail Health Region
Judy Cormier, Saskatchewan Learning
Cecil Gooliaff, Community Resources
Brenda Ives, North East Understanding the Early Years
Helene Johnson, Saskatchewan, Eastern Region II Metis Nation
Shirley Kraus, Prince Albert Grand Council
Ron Richardson, North East School Division
Peter Waldbillig, Northeast Regional Intersectoral Committee

A "Community of Communities"

Population and geography
The northeast region of Saskatchewan is a ‘community of communities’, sporting a rich, culturally diverse population of Cree and Saulteaux First Nations communities, Métis, French, Hutterite, small rural communities to small urban communities.

The North East Understanding the Early Years study involved three (3) First Nations Communities, ten (10) small rural communities with under 500 population, five ( 5) rural urban communities of 500 to 4000 people, and two (2) small urban centers of 4000 to 6000 people. The area of the northeast region is approximately 40,000 square kilometers with a population of about 45,000. A kindergarten population of 400 students participated. Approximately 2100 children between the ages of 0- 5 years reside in the Northeast.

Participating School Boards

The following schools under the administration of the North East School Division participated:

Arborfield School, Arborfield
Bjorkdale School, Bjorkdale
Broadway School, Melfort
Brunswick School, Melfort
Carrot River Elementary School, Carrot River
Central Park Elementary School, Nipawin
Gronlid Central School, Gronlid
Maude Burke Elementary, Melfort
Naicam School, Naicam
Porcupine Plain Elementary
Reynolds Central School, Melfort
Smeaton School, Smeaton
Star City School, Star City
Stewart Hawke Elementary, Hudson Bay
Sylvania School, Sylvania
Tisdale Elementary School, Tisdale
White Fox School, White Fox
William Mason School, Choiceland
Zenon Park School, Ecole Zenon Park, Zenon Park

The following three First Nations Schools, each managed by its own Education Council and respective First Nations community participated:

Nipwakawigamig – Kinistin Education Centre, Kinistin Saulteaux Nation
Ki-Waytinok School, Red Earth First Nation
Wacihk Education Complex, Shoal Lake Cree Nation