National award for preschool teacher
Shane Magee
Northern News Services
Published Wednesday, October 22, 2014
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
A teacher at a preschool for children with special needs is one of 15 people across the country to receive a Prime Minister's Awards for Excellence in Early Childhood Education.
Leslie Caines was told Oct. 7 that she would be receiving the prime ministerial certificate of achievement for her work teaching children between four and five years old at Four Plus, based out of Weledeh Catholic School. The award is considered one of the top honours for teachers in the country.
"I truly love my job," said Caines, about her 16 years with Four Plus at its various locations. "I look forward to coming to work every single day."
Children are referred to the program by community agencies for various reasons.
"They're truly exceptional children," she said, adding she sees a tremendous turnaround between when they arrive and when they head off to school.
The preschool program is administered by Yellowknife Catholic Schools, though students go to any school district once finished.
Superintendent Claudia Parker said the school district has been blessed to have Caines working with them.
"She really has a gift with young children," said Parker. "It means a lot for our children."
Reasons cited for Caines receiving the award include some of the pilot projects she's embarked on to improve child care. One such program, called SuperFlex, teaches children with Asperger's Syndrome and Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder how they can adapt to different social situations.
Other reasons include developing care plans with health-care workers instead of having separate and competing plans and bringing kindergarten teachers and support workers into the preschool to observe their future students to help ensure a smooth transition.
Parker said Caines is a very caring person who is always looking for new ways to improve the teaching environment. School administration nominated Caines for the award, said Parker. The teacher had to sign off on the nomination, so she was aware it had been submitted.
"It was kind of shocking and overwhelming," said Caines, about finding out Tuesday that she received the award. "It's wonderful, but I was kind of surprised."
Parker said it's not clear whether any of the programs Caines teaches will survive the transition to junior kindergarten once the GNWT-mandated program comes into effect at Weledeh in 2016.
Nominees are reviewed by a selections committee that includes people from early education institutions, associations and governments. Caines is the only one from the North on list of recipients.
The Certificate of Achievement is a regional level award with a cash prize of $1,000. The money can be used for training, equipment or to develop programming. There is also a national level award called the Certificate of Excellence.
The regional award is usually presented by the local MP at a community-based ceremony. Caines said she's not sure when that ceremony will take place.
There are 10 regional award recipients this year and five national awards.
