About POPEY

The Provincial Outreach Program for the Early Years (POPEY) is a British Columbia Ministry of Education Provincial Resource Program with an outreach focus. For more information about POPEY and the services we offer, please review our Mandate, Outcomes & Service Delivery Model.

Why We're Here

The Provincial Outreach Program for the Early Years (POPEY) is a British Columbia Ministry of Education Provincial Resource Program with an outreach focus.

Who We Help

POPEY provides services to educators in BC public school districts and Group I and II independent schools. Our support is delivered through in-services, networking, resources and eLearning opportunities.

Who We Are

The POPEY Team consists of:

Jennifer Kelly - Teacher Consultant

Jennifer Kelly joined the Provincial Outreach Program for the Early Years (POPEY) team as a teacher consultant. Jen has 20 years of experience in education as a primary teacher, a literacy intervention teacher, and most recently, a district literacy helping teacher in the North Okanagan-Shuswap School District. She completed her PhD through UBC with a focus on professional learning for teachers. With a passion for literacy learning in the early years, Jen is able to infuse theory and practice when working with primary teachers.

 

Lisa Thomas - Program Manager & Teacher 

   Lisa Thomas is the Program Manager and a Teacher Consultant for the Provincial Outreach Program for the Early Years (POPEY), and has been with POPEY since its inception in 2014. She has 20 years of experience as a classroom teacher and teacher consultant in BC, and completed her BA, BEd, & MEd at UBC. In her role with POPEY, Lisa supports K-3 educators with workshops and resources that support best practice in literacy instruction. She’s passionate about literacy, teacher collaboration, and supporting all students to be happy, confident learners.

 

Other Team Members Include:

  • Cindy Nichols - Administrative Assistant
  • Richard Steward - SD38 Supervising Administrator
  • Technical Support - via SD 38
  • District Partners from School Districts across BC

Our Focus

POPEY has a focus of outreach and capacity building.

How We Help

  • Researching best practice for effective, inclusive K-3 literacy instruction.

  • Connecting with K-3 educators in BC to share good practice for effective literacy instruction in an inclusive classroom setting.

  • Providing educators with online access to a variety of resources in a wide-range of formats.

  • Building and sustaining the capacity of K-3 educators in BC.

  • Providing knowledge and resources to K-3 educators to support diverse learners in an inclusive setting.