Ministers of Education celebrate Family Literacy Day

TORONTO, Jan. 27, 2014 /CNW/ - Provincial and territorial ministers of education join today with parents, caregivers, and children across Canada to celebrate the 16^th annual Family Literacy Day.

Established in 1999 by ABC Life Literacy Canada, Family Literacy Day promotes family reading activities and encourages Canadians to make family time an opportunity for parents and children to learn together. Activities and events are taking place throughout Canada, in schools and libraries, and in the community. For 2014, ABC Life Literacy Canada is encouraging families to take "15 minutes of fun" each day to learn together.

"Parents and caregivers are children's first and best teachers," said the Honourable Jeff Johnson, Chair of CMEC and Alberta's Minister of Education. "By turning everyday family activities into learning opportunities, we encourage children's social and intellectual development and help make learning a lifelong passion."

Literacy remains an integral part of CMEC's work and is interwoven with a variety of programs and activities, including official-languages learning, learning assessment, international engagement, and early childhood learning and development.

Upcoming literacy-related activities in 2014 include:

• the forthcoming publication on the CMEC Web site of updated information on literacy activities and initiatives in the provinces and territories;
• the release in late spring of the latest results from the Pan-Canadian Assessment Program (PCAP), a triennial assessment of the mathematics, reading, and science skills of Grade 8 students from across Canada;
• the release over the coming year of a number of thematic reports based on data from OECD's Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC), which provided Canadians with one of the most complete portraits ever of adult skills in Canada, including literacy.

About CMEC

Founded in 1967, CMEC is the collective voice of Canada's ministers of education. It provides leadership in education at the pan-Canadian and international levels and contributes to the exercise of the exclusive jurisdiction of provinces and territories over education. For more information, visit us at www.cmec.ca.

SOURCE: Council of Ministers of Education, Canada

Colin Bailey
Director, Communications
Cell: 416-929-6970
Tel.: [phone], ext. 259
E-mail: [email protected]
Twitter: @CCMEC