Vulnerable students increasing in Nanaimo, decreasing in Cedar/Yellow Point
Ladysmith Chronicle
Oct 4 2010

Despite a number of new programs to support preschool-aged children in Nanaimo, the percentage of children who enter school unprepared to learn is the highest it has been since 2004.

Research compiled by the Human Early Learning Partnership, a project co- ordinated at the University of B.C. and funded by the province, shows that 31.6 per cent of Nanaimo children enter kindergarten vulnerable on at least one scale of development.

That's up from 27.4 per cent in 2009 and 29.5 per cent three years ago.

"Possibly it would be connected to some of the economic downturn that's happened," said Elizabeth Pennell, coordinator of early learning for Nanaimo school district.

The five measures of vulnerability are: physical health and well-being, social competence, emotional maturity, language and cognitive development, and communication skills and general knowledge.

More early learning programs for preschoolers - such as Parent Child Mother Goose, Ready, Set, Learn and StrongStart Early Learning Centres - have been added in the past few years.

But Pennell said there are other things that have an impact on children, such as the amount of time parents are able to spend helping their children prepare for school or the money needed to provide children with quality daycare.

"The problem currently in the child-care system is that some families have access and some don't," she said. "There are strong programs, but they are not universal."

Full-day kindergarten, which started for about 60 per cent of Nanaimo children this fall and expands to include all new kindergarten students next year, will be a big help for many families, Pennell added, but it doesn't help children in the important preschool years, when critical brain development occurs.

"Focusing on children from the moment the mother is pregnant is crucial," she said….

Joanne Schroeder, provincial community development manager with HELP, said what's significant isn't the slight increase or decrease from year-to-year, but the fact that the number of vulnerable children has remained around 30 per cent for the past 10 years.

"We haven't done anything significantly different for our children," she said…