A New Vision for New Brunswick’s Youngest Learners
By: Ryan Mitchell and Andy Carson – BCAPI Co-Chairs
Published in the Telegraph Journal – May 13th, 2026
New Brunswick has just completed one of the most extensive public consultations on education in recent memory. Parents, students, teachers, and community members shared their experiences in the “What We Heard” report. Their message was clear: classrooms need stronger supports, students need improved foundational skills, and our system must do a better job meeting children where they are.
Turning that feedback into action is now the challenge for the forthcoming 10-year education plan – and research shows the most impactful interventions start early.
Fortunately, one successful early intervention has already been trialed, evaluated and documented in New Brunswick classrooms. The When Children Succeed (WCS) project has operated for eight years in K-3 classrooms in seven elementary schools serving low-income neighbourhoods in Saint John. This project’s success at closing the achievement gap between low socio-economic status students and their more fortunate peers offers a blueprint for how we can respond to the concerns raised in the consultations – and re-imagine education for our youngest children.
Those early years matter more than we often appreciate. Research shows that early childhood is a sensitive period for brain development. This is especially true for children growing up in poverty. In New Brunswick, roughly 22 per cent of children live in low-income households, and many arrive at Kindergarten up to two years behind. If we do not close that gap by the end of Grade 3 – when children shift from “learning to read” to “reading to learn”– achievement in all other subject areas becomes increasingly challenging.
The WCS project was designed to meet this challenge head-on. By placing additional teachers and supports into high-poverty schools, it tested a simple idea: if we have educators who are equipped with the right resources, are vulnerable children able to succeed at the same level as others?
The answer to that question is yes. The literacy and numeracy gap between WCS classrooms and control group classrooms has been eliminated. By Grade 3, WCS students now outperform their peers on most measures. Smaller learning groups, strategic interventions, and regular progress monitoring have reduced behaviour issues, increased parent engagement, and renewed teacher confidence.
The WCS model demonstrates the achievement that can happen if we properly fund appropriate learning supports for these vulnerable learners.
The financial argument is equally compelling. Poverty already costs New Brunswick an estimated $1.4 billion annually in lost productivity, health costs and social supports. Expanding the WCS approach to high-poverty schools across the province would cost roughly $6 million per year and generate $3.21 in savings for every $1 invested over 20 years. Early investment is both compassionate and fiscally responsible.
To truly address the needs of low socio-economic-status learners, the upcoming Education Plan must do five critical things.
First, early childhood education must be treated as a developmental opportunity for children, and not simply a tool that allows parents to enter the workforce. Today, eligibility for subsidized daycare is tied to whether a parent is working or in school. As a result, more than 4,500 New Brunswick children (ages 0-8) in families receiving social assistance are not receiving high-quality early learning because a parent is unemployed. These children are most likely to arrive at school with learning deficits – yet least likely to receive the enrichment they need to reduce that gap.
Second, we must modernize how we measure skill development. The Early Years Evaluation-Direct Assessment (EYE-DA) measures readiness in key areas, but participation is voluntary. Twenty-per cent of children province-wide do not complete it, and in high-poverty communities that figure approaches 40 per cent. We can close this gap by introducing teacher-led evaluations to assess students at the beginning of Kindergarten.
Third, standardized assessments in New Brunswick schools occur only in Grade 4 (literacy) and Grade 5 (numeracy) – when it is too late to correct foundational gaps. For the past two years, the Early Grades Literacy Assessment (EGLA) has been used to track literacy skills development from K-2, providing teachers with the ability to monitor progress and intervene early. The Department of Education and DataNB should adopt a similar process for numeracy and create a pathway of skills assessment for both literacy and numeracy, so students arrive at their first standardized tests ready to succeed.
Fourth, we must re-examine our retention and promotion practices. Advancing students based on age can set vulnerable learners up to fail and create classrooms with unmanageable skill gaps. The latest research must be reviewed and a new plan formulated to meet the present and future needs of our children regarding critical literacy and numeracy skills.
Fifth, we must recognize poverty as a proven learning barrier affecting one in five students. Low socio-economic status requires accommodation — like any other special need.
Imagine a New Brunswick where every toddler receives high-quality early learning, where Kindergarten teachers begin with accurate readiness data. Where in-class supports are guaranteed in high-need communities. Where students are regularly evaluated, best-practice interventions are applied in a timely manner, and promotion is based on true readiness.
That is the vision our province should embrace.
The consultations have told us what people want. The experience of When Children Succeed shows us how to deliver it — to reduce poverty, enhance wellbeing, strengthen our workforce, and build a more prosperous province.
New Brunswickers have been heard. Now it is time to lead.
Contact:
Monica Chaperlin, Coordinator
Business Community Anti-Poverty Initiative (BCAPI)
506.343.7593
chaperlin.monica@jdirving.com
