Mission and Guiding Principles

Mission

The goal of the AHSUNC program is to demonstrate that local sites controlled by Aboriginal people can provide preschool children with a positive sense of themselves, a desire for learning and opportunities to develop fully. Many AHSUNC sites have become central locations for improving the lives of Aboriginal children. Projects are managed in such a way that parents and guardians, extended family and community members, can have meaningful input in the program design, implementation, management, evaluation and ongoing planning.

Guiding Principles

1) Support and nurture the growth of the child;

2) Encourage education;

3) Support parents and guardians as the primary teachers and caregivers of their children;

4) Empower parents to play a major part in planning, developing, operating and evaluating the program;

5) Recognize and support the role of the extended family in teaching and caring for children;

6) Include the community as part of the program throughout all of its stages, from planning to evaluation;

7) Ensure that the program works with and is supported by other community programs and services; and

8) Ensure that human and financial resources are used in the best way possible towards measurable and positive outcomes for Aboriginal children, their parents, families and communities.