Prince George, B.C. – Those with concerns about rural education or who want to share ideas on how to make it better are invited to an open house this Wednesday at the Van Bien Training and Development Centre.

Parliamentary Secretary for Rural Education Linda Larson and Ministry of Education are hosting the event which will run from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

“Interested British Columbians and organizations can express their thoughts on rural education, sharing stories in a casual setting,” reads a statement from the ministry. “Participants will engage in a more formal facilitated discussion for the last hour of the meeting.”

The open house is part of the government’s public engagement process to help develop a rural education strategy by this summer.

You can also comment on the draft discussion paper summarizing what was heard from the first phase of rural education engagement by click here.

According to the provincial government, about 32 per cent of the students in the K-12 education system attend schools located outside of greater Victoria, the Lower Mainland and Kelowna areas.